April 13, 2007 == MEDIA ADVISORY
Summary: Calvin College will host 2,700 aspiring, and inspiring, student
authors from almost 100 local schools at the end of April. It also will host a
special book signing for a prestigious African American children's book
illustrator.
Full story see http://www.calvin.edu/news/releases/2006-07/youth-writing.htm
Every two years, the Youth Writing Festivals grace the Calvin College campus,
welcoming hopeful scribes from all over West Michigan.
Nominated by their teachers those young writers come together at Calvin to
hone their writing in workshops, listen to celebrated authors and illustrators,
and maybe even win an award.
This year’s event will take place Thursday through Saturday, April 26
through 28, and will welcome 2,700 students drawn from 96 West Michigan
elementary, middle and high schools, charter academies and home schools.
The Middle School Writers Workshop and the High School Writers workshop will
be held concurrently on campus -- the first event at the chapel and FAC; the
second at the Prince Conference Center -- from 7:30 a.m. through 1:30 p.m. on
Thursday, April 26.
Both groups will attend sessions with keynote speakers and participate in
workshops taught by local professionals from the whole realm of writing genres:
journalism, poetry, fiction, non-fiction, fantasy and nature writing, comics
and graphic novels, memoirs and music writing.
James Ransome will be spotlighted at the Young Authors Festival which happens
Friday and Saturday, April 27 and 28 in the Fine Arts Center. Student authors
in first through fifth grades will have sessions with the illustrious
illustrator, winner of the Coretta Scott King Award and the NAACP Image Award.
In another festival first, his work is being showcased at Calvin’s Center
Art Gallery through April 28 in a show titled “Visual Stories: The Artwork of
James Ransome” and Ransome will meet gallery patrons from 7 to 9 p.m. on
April 26 and sign copies of his books.
For more on that show see
http://www.calvin.edu/news/releases/2006-07/ransome.htm
In addition 12 Calvin students will write a screenplay with Raymond Singer,
who penned Mulan and Jospeh King of Dreams and other films.
The Youth Writing Festivals is supported by the Grand Rapids Literacy Council,
which covered registration fees for four local schools and by a Department of
Education's Teacher Quality Grant, which will cover registration fees for
students coming from four schools partnered with Calvin through a reading
program.
Contact Calvin professor Gary Schmidt at 616-526-6540 for more details on the
Festival
Contact Calvin art gallery director Joel Zwart at 616-526-6271 for more on the
Ransome show
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Received on Thu Apr 12 15:39:55 2007
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