Young Authors’ Conference: For the “Love of Writing” Virtual Launch 2024

Related Photos

• 
  Magical Library brainstorm map created by Lee Edward Födi with ideas from SD73 students

Story provided by Literacy Coordinators, Tricia Persad and Mike Carson

Young Authors' Conference

In the 2022-2027 District Strategic Plan, we are committed to supporting students to develop foundational literacy skills and to develop a passion for multi-literacies- reading, writing, speaking, listening, and composing in the fine arts.

The "For the Love of Writing" Young Authors' Conference launch on February 14^th was a great success. Over 70 classes attended virtual writing workshops with celebrated BC and Alberta writers. Students honed their craft and, hopefully, were inspired to consider attending the in-person conference on May 3^rd at TRU!

Grades 4-5 students joined Lee Edward Födi as he shared his photos from visiting fascinating libraries around the world. Then students helped Lee brainstorm key fantastical features to draw in his modeled magical library as they, too, designed their own with talking books, flying bookworms, bottomless book drops, and even broom rentals! The idea is that students' illustrated brainstorm "maps" could provide a foundation for future story-writing.

Grades 6-7 students teamed up with Miranda Krogstad and had immense fun writing short, detailed responses to scaffolded challenges. Perhaps without even realizing it, students used sensory imagery, metaphors, and hyperboles. One Valentine's Day activity asked students to compare a loved one to an object, and many were witty! One read, "My love for you is like the old dog couch. It's worn yet comfortable. Sometimes it's annoying, but I can't throw it away!" When writing is fun, time really does fly!

Author and screenwriter Andrew Buckley introduced secondary students to the fine art of scriptwriting. Using engaging examples from popular films, Andrew showed how the archetypal Hero’s Journey is often used as a template by filmmakers as he guided students through an investigation of the plots of Barbie and Batman (two separate movies) and several Disney films. Andrew’s workshop was informative and entertaining, and left students with new insights into how to use time-tested plot structures to enhance their own unique pieces of writing.

In the afternoon, Finnian Burnett led secondary students through a lively, interactive workshop on how to craft an (almost) perfect flash-fiction story. Finn used examples from their own writing to demonstrate how to compress character, conflict, tension, and theme into an explosive piece of fiction less than 1,000 words long. Students and teachers left Finn’s workshop with an arsenal of practical writing techniques and strategies they could put to use right away.

How do Grades 4-12 students get involved with the in-person Young Authors' Conference on May 3^rd? They express interest to their school contact (who has all the details) and submit a creative writing manuscript. See https://sd73youngauthors.weebly.com/