It has been such an honor to learn that my debut YA novel, Pandemic, won the 2015 Crystal Kite Award for the Atlantic region from the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. You can learn more about SCBWI here.
In separate news, for this week's Teen Tuesday post I'm participating in the Ch1Con 2015 Blog Tour with an interview/giveaway from conference founder Julia Byers.
About Ch1Con
Founded in 2012, the first Chapter One Young Writers Conference (Ch1Con) took place in Chicago with six teenagers in attendance in person and countless others attending via an online live stream. It was an experiment limited to members of the Scholastic’s Write It community and their friends: Could a group of teenagers from across North America really get together and run their own conference? The answer soon became apparent: Yes. And so the conference was born!
Because the teen writing community is a particularly vibrant one, Ch1Con is proud to say they are the only writing conference by young writers, for young writers. Their team comprises a number of high school and college age writers at different experience levels in the industry, eager to create a unique experience for others like them.
This year, the conference will take place on Saturday, August 8th in the suburbs of Chicago, IL, in Arlington Heights. 2015 registration is currently open on the Ch1Con website for writers from a middle school to undergraduate level and at an early bird discount price of $39.99.
If you’re a writer from middle school to undergraduate level and you’re interested in this opportunity, register ASAP! The early bird discount ends May 31st and there are only thirty slots open. For more information and to join the Ch1Con community, check out these links:
This year, the conference will take place on Saturday, August 8th in the suburbs of Chicago, IL, in Arlington Heights. 2015 registration is currently open on the Ch1Con website for writers from a middle school to undergraduate level and at an early bird discount price of $39.99.
If you’re a writer from middle school to undergraduate level and you’re interested in this opportunity, register ASAP! The early bird discount ends May 31st and there are only thirty slots open. For more information and to join the Ch1Con community, check out these links:
Interview with Julia Byers
If you had to describe the biggest single benefit of this conference for teen writers, what would it be?
The biggest benefit of attending Ch1Con is that it gives teens and young adults the opportunity to learn about writing and publishing in a casual, fun environment that diverges from the stress and rigidity of conferences meant for adults.
What is the most fun aspect of the conference for participants?
Definitely getting to meet and hang out with other teens and young adults who are passionate about writing! Writers are the weirdest (and coolest) people ever and we don’t get to see each other nearly often enough. Ch1Con gives participants the opportunity to connect with one another in person, make new friends, and talk to teens and young adults who are successful in the industry and can help guide them on their way to following their own writing dreams.
What writing advice would you offer to teens who can’t make it to the conference this year?
Find other ways to connect with young writers! If you can’t make it to the conference, there are still so many opportunities for connecting, especially online. The internet’s a magical place, and while you obviously need to be careful, it’s also a great way to make friends and learn about writing and publishing. Having a strong support network in place for the hard road to publication is absolutely crucial.
How did you get involved with the conference?
I started work on the first Chapter One Young Writers Conference back in my senior year of high school with the goal of creating an event that would be both educational and fun (and an excuse for my online writer friends and me to finally get to meet in person). We loved that first little conference, so over the next couple years we worked to expand it into an event more kids would be able to attend--with bigger speakers and more opportunities for participants--and in 2014 we unveiled the new and improved Chapter One Young Writers Conference. This year we’ve continued to expand it, and I’m so excited to share the 2015 conference with everyone!
The biggest benefit of attending Ch1Con is that it gives teens and young adults the opportunity to learn about writing and publishing in a casual, fun environment that diverges from the stress and rigidity of conferences meant for adults.
What is the most fun aspect of the conference for participants?
Definitely getting to meet and hang out with other teens and young adults who are passionate about writing! Writers are the weirdest (and coolest) people ever and we don’t get to see each other nearly often enough. Ch1Con gives participants the opportunity to connect with one another in person, make new friends, and talk to teens and young adults who are successful in the industry and can help guide them on their way to following their own writing dreams.
What writing advice would you offer to teens who can’t make it to the conference this year?
Find other ways to connect with young writers! If you can’t make it to the conference, there are still so many opportunities for connecting, especially online. The internet’s a magical place, and while you obviously need to be careful, it’s also a great way to make friends and learn about writing and publishing. Having a strong support network in place for the hard road to publication is absolutely crucial.
How did you get involved with the conference?
I started work on the first Chapter One Young Writers Conference back in my senior year of high school with the goal of creating an event that would be both educational and fun (and an excuse for my online writer friends and me to finally get to meet in person). We loved that first little conference, so over the next couple years we worked to expand it into an event more kids would be able to attend--with bigger speakers and more opportunities for participants--and in 2014 we unveiled the new and improved Chapter One Young Writers Conference. This year we’ve continued to expand it, and I’m so excited to share the 2015 conference with everyone!
Thank you, Julia! The conference sounds like a great opportunity. Here's another opportunity: a chance to win a critique from Julia using the rafflecopter (below). Good luck!
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