Four accomplished members of the Annie Writers (s)Elective presented two sessions at the Pacific Northwest Writers Association (PNWA) conference on Saturday, September 26. Lu Henry-Mitchell and Katherine Christensen (Yellow Tie seniors) and Anna Parrott and Kaitlyn Lawson (Red Tie juniors) created a session for adults attending the conference about teaching Young Adult (YA) writers what actual YA readers are looking for in YA books. The four students developed and delivered an incredible powerpoint that was professional, thorough and informative. They covered the importance of representation, consent, good book covers, and more. They made a survey that 70 AWS students answered about their preferences when it comes to reading YA books to draw from in the presentation.  

The students led another session for Young Author's Day (aimed at kids, age 8-16) on the essentials of YA writing. Lu Henry-Mitchell also pitched a book to editors and agents during the conference and received two requests to view the manuscript.

Pam Binder, PNWA president, was so impressed that she has already invited them back to next year's conference. We can't wait to learn what's next for this group of talented writers!