This week, students from all around Marquette and Alger counties flexed their literary muscles during the 2024 Marquette-Alger Young Authors Conference at Northern Michigan University.

The yearly event is a celebration of creativity and literature which sees area students bring their creative writing and participate in a book-sharing session, attend writing workshops and be treated to a presentation from a published author.

This year’s guest author was David Biedrzycki, author and illustrator of many beloved children’s books.

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 during the 2023 conference. “Hearing from a famous author humanizes the profession and allows them to think, ‘I can do that too.'”

In an era where kids are constantly inundated with social media, video games and other forms of entertainment, it can seem like writing and reading takes a backseat.

That is what makes the Young Authors program such an important and useful idea. Fostering a love of reading and writing allows kids to find their voices and give themselves a means of expression that they would not otherwise have.

For more information, or to support the program, visit youngauthorsmqt.weebly.com.