SHREVEPORT – Calling all educators and lovers of young adult literature.
LSUS is hosting the fifth annual Conference for Young Adult Literature Louisiana on Nov. 7 in the Noel Memorial Library.
The day-long event begins at 9 a.m. and ends with an evening keynote reception by young adult author Brittany N. Williams.
Educators will receive seven continuing education hours (0.7 CE units) for participation.
Registration cost is $40 with students gaining access for $20.
“The conference is aimed at college, high school and middle school educators, students in teacher education programs, literature majors, librarians, and young adult scholars,” said Brian Sherman, dean of LSUS’s Noel Memorial Library. “It’s a great opportunity to connect with fellow educators, share best practices, and collaborate to promote learning strategies for young adults.
“Aspiring educators are able to hear from current educators on how they integrate current young adult novels into the curriculum and how they teach traditional texts with modern adaptations.”
Attendees can learn in 14 different sessions throughout the day, varying from how “Harry Potter” inspires young readers to explore traditional narratives to young adult adaptions of “The Tragedy of Hamlet.”
Other sessions include exploring environmentalism for all ages through “Jurassic World,” responding to young adults with interactive storytelling, and teaching Gen Z in the age of artificial intelligence.
“This conference is also a venue for discussing how advocates can best serve teens in helping them overcome adversity in their lives and creating programming that allows young adults to learn and grow,” Sherman said.
The keynote speaker Williams is the author of the young adult historical fantasy “That Self-Same Metal,” which is the first book in the Forge & Fracture Saga. Other titles include “Saint Seducing Gold” and “Iron Tongue of Midnight.”
A classically-trained actress who studied musical theatre at Howard University and Shakespearean performance at the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama in London, Williams published short stories in The Gambit Weekly, Fireside Magazine and the Star Wars anthology “From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back.”
For more information, email cyall@lsus.edu or call 318-798-4131.
