Seventh annual Young Authors' Conference

Wednesday, May 18, 2016
Writer, illustrator Jenny Whitehead from Kansas City told the students to keep a notebook handy to jot down ideas for stories.
Mike Artell, New Orleans, La., told the young authors attending Truman Elementary's annual conference that he is a writer, illustrator, and musician. He said he has written 40 books and illustrated most of them.
Valo Jones, right, gets a book autographed for her grandchildren by Jenny Whitehead while visiting with Fran Furry. Photos by Ralph Pokorny/Daily Mail

The Seventh Annual Nevada Young Authors' Conference was held at Truman Elementary on Saturday, May 7 from 12:30-3:30 p.m. At the conference, approximately 148 students from Truman Elementary, Benton Elementary, Appleton City, Bronaugh, El Dorado Springs, Hume, St. Mary's, and Sheldon schools met and heard from guest speakers: Author/illustrator Mike Artell from Covington, La., and author/illustrator Jenny Whitehead from Kansas City, Mo.

The conference, which was coordinated by Cindy Neely and Heather Dilly, hosted an estimated crowd of more than 450 Young Authors and their families.

The Nevada Young Authors' Conference was established mainly to provide a purpose for writing and a way for students to celebrate their accomplishments. The Young Author winners were second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth graders from the attending schools.

Each student was given an autographed book from the authors and a T-Shirt with a logo symbolizing this year's theme of "We write by the light of every story we have ever read" -- Richard Peck. Retired educators, members of the community, as well as dedicated teachers and principals Julie Kibble from Truman Elementary and Misty Rainey from Benton Elementary gave assistance during the conference.

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