Crowder College Young Authors Conference

05/21/2026

Parents! Young Authors Conference Needs Your Help!
The YAC committee is working on writing grants to continue to grow and improve the contest and conference. One of the items many of the larger grants ask for is feedback from participants. We also want to find ways to make next year's YAC even better. If you participated this year, would you fill out this quick survey?
https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/4jnyX3Zb8f

05/07/2026

We are still riding the excitement from Saturday! Almost 200 people joined us to celebrate writing and literacy from across Vernon, Jasper, Newton, McDonald, and Barry counties. We are so thankful to all of you from across southwest Missouri who attended. We will see you again for the 4th annual Young Authors Conference in 2027!📚

05/03/2026

Thank you all for a fantastic day celebrating writing and literacy in our community! 📚Thank you parents, teachers, speakers, and helpers for making this event incredible. We will post pictures early next week from the event and ask for your feedback. But for today, a special shout out to this planning crew, who met afterwards to discuss how to make next year even better.

Special shout out to the Crowder College Foundation, the Crowder Friends of the Library, , and the Neosho Arts Council. We are so thankful for your support for this event!

05/01/2026

05/01/2026

The Young Author's Conference is only one day away! Are you ready for the excitement, the learning, and to be wowed by the young author's work?
Be there at Crowder College, Neosho, MO. Farber Hall, Saturday, May 2nd, from 9am to Noon.
These are just some of the people who will be there to greet you and guide you to a day of imaginative wonder.
We look forward to your visit, students, teachers, administrators, and family members of the young authors.

04/30/2026

We are so excited for Saturday! Join us in the Farber building in Neosho from 9-12 THIS SATURDAY! All students, their families, and teachers/librarians in 2-4 grades in Newton, McDonald, Barry, Jasper, and Vernon counties are welcome to join us.
We will hear from local authors and illustrators, spend time doing literary crafts, view the competition students’ stories, and enjoy some light refreshments.
All students who submitted stories through their classrooms will receive a certificate and t-shirt!

04/30/2026

April 30, 2026
Just two Days Away! Are You Ready?
Young Author Conference Attendees!

Please join me in welcoming our keynote speaker and children’s book author,

Mendi Spencer
Mendi Spencer is an author that delights readers with rhyming stories and creative illustrations. Younger readers enjoy finding hidden details and easter eggs in illustrations while older readers enjoy the silliness, humor & wit. Her first book, "The Adventures of a Robot Vacuum: The Ransom", was such a success that she created Brookson Books Publishing to publish several more children's books. Readers can find "Sleep Squad", "When a Snore is Something More", "A Tale of Two Swifties" and her most recent publication, "The Teachers Lounge", on Amazon. When she is not actively publishing a book, Mendi enjoys visiting schools and working with students of all ages that are learning to write and story-tell.

04/30/2026

April 30, 2026
Young Author Conference Attendees! Just Two Days Away! Are You Ready?

Please join me in welcoming one of our talented Breakout Session Leaders, John Larson, Director of Crowder College’s Nevada campus, and a past breakout session leader.

In John Larson’s own words:

I come from cornfields and flatland and saucers of coffee blown over before sipped. I come from high school basketball benches & poetry contests.
I live in classrooms and living rooms, work in minds and hearts, sleep in E-flat minor, and dream of peace, full tummies, and scars that also heal.
I am bound for mountains, guitar chords, and the chance to read another story, ingest another poem, hear another song.
I teach English and am director at the Nevada Crowder College campus. My hobbies include collecting & listening to music, writing music, and collaborating with creatives.

John’s Breakout session is entitled, “Fiction Writing: Show, Don’t Tell”

Verbs matter. Telling readers about a story you’d like to write will never satisfy you or the reader quite like projecting your story on the movie screens of their minds. This session focuses on how to engage readers more deeply through the use of action verbs and imagery. This session also leans heavily on the importance of writing as rewriting. All successful writers are rewriters, and they love to improve, improve, improve their writing until they can improve no more.

Welcome, John Larson, Breakout Session Leader!

Our students can't wait to meet you. So many of our young authors have displayed outstanding creative writing skills. You'll be an inspiration to these budding young creatives!

04/29/2026

Young Author Conference Attendees!
Saturday May 2nd, 2026 Elsie Plaster Auditorium

Please join me in welcoming one of our talented Breakout Session Leaders, J. Evan Baker, children’s book author!

J. Evan Baker is a local author who has written a chapter book and a children’s book, along with award-winning short stories. His work focuses on middle-grade fiction inspired by stories he has written for his own children. He is actively working on expanding the worlds he has created.

Welcome, Evan Baker, Breakout Session Leader!

Our students can't wait to meet you. So many of our young authors have displayed outstanding creative writing skills. You'll be an inspiration to these budding young creatives!

04/29/2026

Young Author Conference Attendees!

The YAC students are our first priority…but things happen behind the scenes to make this YAC creative showcase a reality.

Meet Dr. Stephanie Witcher, Communications Division Chair at Crowder College and the leader of this literacy initiative known as the Young Authors’ Conference.

In Dr. Witcher’s own words:
“YAC is important to me because as an educator, formerly in K-12 and now at a community college, I see the impact of encouraging readers and writers at a young age. Those students who find a love for writing are able to advocate for themselves, show empathy for others, and present themselves as professionals who can creatively solve problems. We hope that YAC is an avenue for teachers to encourage the love of story writing in our students in southwest Missouri. Together, we can increase literacy in our communities.”

The celebratory event is only seven days away. On May 2nd 2026 all the talented students, teachers, parents, and administrators will gather for a morning filled with creative activity…and the announcement of this year’s winners.

Join us for a day of creative wonder!