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"We are proud that we have been able to continue to present this
day long, professional conference as our gift to Alta Vista, our founding
school," comments YWC co-founder, Rena Svetic. "Everyone that is involved with
the conference donates their time and talents for this one annual
conference."
"That is how passionate we are about students having the
opportunity to learn from professional writers and having the empowering
opportunity to express themselves through writing," continued partner Julie
Moore. "We also want to thank all our authors, many of whom have been with us
since the beginning."
Rebecca Forster, Dan Crow, John Bogert, Karen Graves, Carl Green,
Caroline Hatton, Craig Machen, Lori Polydoros, John VanDenEykel and Mark
Williams, are all part of the original YWC team, and will be participating at
the Alta Vista Conference.
Keynote
Speaker 
Opening
up the day's conference for 3rd through 5th graders will be Rebecca
Forster, USA
Today besting selling author of 18 mysteries and legal thrillers. Along with
being a novelist, Forster teaches writing at California State University Long
Beach and is the Creative Director for the Write America Conferences. She has
been speaking and teaching workshops for the YWC since its inception, and
comments, "I've been honored to work with writers of all ages - from 5- 85 (no
kidding). I work with an incredible group of women who run The Young Writer's
Conference. We go into schools and help kids overcome a fear of
writing." For
more information about Forster, please visit: www.rebeccaforster.com.
Dan
Crow
will be the speaker for Kindergarten to second graders, who will have their own
assembly at 10:00-10:40. Dan
Crow is one of America's most well-known and beloved family entertainers and
recording artists. He is the star of the Emmy award winning Just
for Fun,
a three time Gold Parent's Choice winner, and a Cable Ace nominated songwriter
for his work on the Disney channel. He has written over 300 songs for children,
including 95 that have been published by the Walt Disney Music Company. His
songs have been performed by Winnie the Pooh, Bambi, Dumbo, etc. In addition to
his keynote, he will be leading a seminar, Reading, Writing and Rhythm, where
original songs and stories will capture the joy and magic of language and
wordplay. Visit his website, www.dancrow.com.
Conference
After the keynote address, the students will attend four different
workshops that they selected and registered for online. The students had a
wide variety of sessions to choose from; ranging from comic book, to sports, to
screen, to play-writing. All are led by accomplished authors and educators and
designed to create an environment where the joy of writing and self-expression
is celebrated.
Workshops
Here are a few of the offered workshops:
 Three time Olympian, Head
Track and Field Coach at Southwestern College, Managing Director of the USA
Track and Field's High Performance Team, and award-winning author,
Anthony
"Tonie" Campbell will lead an inspirational session, Daring
to Dream (Putting Dreams to Paper.) For an interview with Tonie Campbell,
please visit http://www.blackathlete.com/artman/publish/article_01338.shtml.
Dave
Kinnoin
has written hundreds of songs for the Muppets, Disney and Sesame Workshop, and
his "For
Love of My Pet"
is on Walt Disney Records latest release,
101 Dalmatians and Friends
(March 2008). His workshop, Songwriting
101, will take students' through the songwriting process in a way that
honors their thoughts and feelings. For more information about Kinnoin, visit
www.songwizard.com.
Lori
Polydoros,
children's author and frequent contributor to the Los Angeles Times Kids'
Reading Page, will lead a workshop entitled What's
in Your Character's Pocket?
Her latest book, The
Cost of Freedom, Saving the California Condor, encouraged readers to write their
governor and visit www.savethecondor.com.
For more information about Polydoros, visit www.loripolydoros.com.
 Michelle
Markel
leads the workshop, If
This Painting Could Talk: Writing About Art.
Students will examine mysterious paintings and learn how to decipher their
meaning, and then will write an art review. Markel is the author of a number of
books, including Dreamer
from the Village: The Story of Marc Chagall.
The day concludes with a Writers' Wrap Up
assembly.
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The Young Writers'
Conference (YWC) 10th season continues at Alta Vista Elementary School Friday,
March 28th. The Young Writers' Conference is a Los Angeles based organization
dedicated to improving young people's writing skills by first instilling a
passion for writing. The Writer's Conference was founded at Alta Vista ten years ago, and
continues as the organization's community service project. The staff
and workshop instructors donate their time and launch the theme for the
following season, 2008-09. The new theme is 