Heading to Cajun Country for Some Baton Rouge Young Adult Literature, Year Number Two #LSUYAL2015

So, it is year number two for me and LSU. Time to get my purple and gold on again and to convene with young adult literature enthusiasts and the writers who like to write for adolescent readers.

I'm looking forward to meeting Jacqueline Woodson, Coe Booth, Sharon Draper and Sharon Flake, as well as spend quality time with other friends I've met who share a similar passion for the genre.

This year, my seminar focuses on using young adult literature to inspire real-world writing. Following a motto of reading like a writer, the goal is for my participants to have several seeds planted in writers notebooks that can be used for further development should they choose.

I'm carrying with me 20+ years of writing instruction experience (and the exhaustion of the 2014-2015 academic year). I'm also eyeing the CWP Summer Institute and Young Adult Literacy Labs that are just around the corner, too. Phew. I have to love what I'm doing, otherwise I'd fizzle out and melt away into the summer soils.

The LSU Young Adult Literature Conference spearheaded by Steven Bickmore is something I looked forward to last year and that I'm excited to attend again this year. It's time for walking and running in pea soup again and meeting new friends.

Bring it on.