Simpson College and the Iowa Arts Council will co-sponsor a Young Writers Conference on the college's Indianola campus Friday, April 29.

The daylong conference is free of charge and will host sixth through 12th grade students as well as members of the public from across Iowa with lunch provided.

The conference will consist of a keynote presentation by Poetry Alive! a poetry performance troupe and breakout sessions with various Iowa writers and artists including Iowa writer John Carlson; illustrator Mary Jones; songwriter Dave Moore; Record Herald and Indianola Tribune sports writer Bill Hendricks and playwright Cynthia Mercati; among others. Participants will attend two workshops or breakout sessions of their choice.

Additionally, prior to attending the conference, the young writers will be invited to submit a piece of writing for inclusion in the conference anthology.  The anthologies will be printed, and each young writer will receive a copy.  In addition, participants will be invited to bring a piece of writing to the conference in order to participate in peer conferencing sessions, which will be facilitated by Simpson teacher education candidates. 

The Young Writers Conference is a celebration of writing providing an opportunity for young writers to explore careers in writing, interact with Iowa artists, and advance their writing skills.

Please contact Sharon Jensen at 515.961.1521 to register in advance or to get additional information. Interested individuals may also visit the Young Writers Conference website at http://www.simpson.edu/~gittinge/YWC/