Six young authors to represent Alton at state level

ALTON - Six students from the Alton School District were invited to bring their works of fiction to the 43rd Annual Illinois Young Authors Conference on May 20 at Illinois State University in Bloomington. 

The following students qualified for the state level after they joined 21 of their peers at the Madison County Young Authors Conference, which selected as many as 27 books from nearly 300 penned by young authors within the district. 

• Trenton Akers-Meyer, a first grader from Lovejoy with Trenton's Friends
• Jonah Cohill, a kindergartener from Lewis and Clark Elementary with How to Be Safe
• Brooklyn Killian, a second grader from East Elementary School with Nick's Sweet Treat
• Levi Mitchell, a first grader from Gilson Brown Elementary School with The Little Engine and Bob
• Kenzie Stark, a third grader from North Elementary School with The Friendly Fish
• Phuong Tran, a fifth grader from West Elementary school with Dawn of the Warriors: Part 1

Alton School District Curriculum Coordinator Elaine Kane said students write small books and submit them to a school committee, which chooses works to send to the county level, which was held at Edwardsville High School this year. From there, students were chosen to represent the districts at state. 

According to a release sent by Kane, the Young Author's Conference is sponsored by the Illinois Language and Literacy Council, in conjunction with the Illinois Reading Council. It was designed as a celebration to honor exceptional writing for students from kindergarten through the eighth grade. A panel discussion on the evening of May 19, 2017, will allow the young authors to introduce themselves and their works to attendees. 

During the actual event on Saturday, May 20, 2017, students will register in the ballroom where they receive their room assignments and a book bag containing a pencil and a gold seal, which they may place on their own story. Students then spend the next several hours sharing their stories while supervised by teachers and parents. The day concludes with an awards ceremony. 

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