Students from Janet Anderson’s third-grade class at Superior Hills Elementary School take the stage at the 2023 Marquette-Alger Young Authors Conference at Northern Michigan University Monday afternoon. The yearly conference sees students from 13 area schools take part in an event that encourages youth literacy. (Journal photo by Randy Crouch)

MARQUETTE — Students from Marquette and Alger counties are flexing their literary muscles this week as the Marquette-Alger Young Authors Conference takes place through Thursday on the Northern Michigan University campus.

This year the conference will welcome back popular children’s author Jerry Pallotta. Pallotta’s books have been mainstays in elementary schools for years, with Pallotta spending much of his time touring schools all around the country.

The 2023 edition of the conference features students from more than a dozen schools in the Marquette-Alger area. The students will perform stories they have written, while also listening to a presentation from Pallotta.

“I was really looking forward to coming to this,” said Aundraya Kulik, a fourth-grade student at Superior Central. “My favorite part was writing my story.”

Each day of the conference has four events. Students will attend the author’s presentation, present their own writing during a book-sharing session, participate in a writing workshop activity and are treated to lunch at Northern Michigan University’s Marketplace.

The event has taken place annually over four days in May for nearly 40 years. While the conference itself takes place over four days, participation takes place throughout the entire school year, with activities including reading, researching, illustrating, writing and finally publishing the books.

“The students were engaged throughout the entire writing process. Writing their own stories for an authentic purpose and being able to showcase their work meant a lot to them,” said Superior Central fourth-grade teacher Victoria Hill. “Hearing from a famous author humanizes the profession and allows them to think, ‘I can do that too.'”