Helping Students Discover Their Stories: Lessons from Authors in the Classroom

A Bear Pond Books Educator Series event with the Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) Young Writers' Network (YWN). Enjoy a writing exercise and presentation from a panel of authors about helping students find authenticity in their writing and voice. The panel of authors include An Na, Erin Moulton, and Katie Bayerl. Book signing with additional VCFA/YWN authors to follow as a benefit for the Young Writers' Network. Free and open to the public.

About the Panel

Erin E. Moulton is the author of Flutter(Penguin, 2011), Tracing Stars(Penguin, 2012), Chasing the Milky Way(Penguin, 2014), and Keepers of the Labyrinth (Penguin, 2015). She is also editor of the forthcoming anthology Things We Haven't Said (Zest, 2018). Her books have been selected and nominated for national and state award lists, such as the Amelia Bloomer list, the Kentucky Bluegrass Master List and the Isinglass Teen Read Award List. Flutter was also a 2011 Kid’s Indie Next pick. When Erin isn’t writing books she works as teen librarian at the Derry Public Library where she maintains a collection of awesome YA books and leads teen programming. Erin loves fostering new voices, which makes her an active school visitor, mentor and workshop leader to writers of all ages. You can find her online at www.erinemoulton.com.

Katie Bayerl fell in love with books before she can remember and with teaching when she was just a teen. The writing books for teens part came a bit later. She jumped right in and hasn’t looked back. These days, when she isn’t penning her own stories, Katie coaches teens and nonprofits to tell theirs. She has an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts, where she leads the VCFA Young Writers Network. She has taught writing to teens in schools and a range of community settings, including at GrubStreet in her home city of Boston. Her debut young adult novel, A Psalm for Lost Girls, was named a “can’t miss” by Boston Magazine and spring 2017 top pick by Amazon, RT, and Books-a-Million. You can find her at: www.katiebayerl.com

An Na was born in Korea and grew up in San Diego, California. A former middle school English and history teacher, her books for young readers include A Step from Heaven, The Fold, and Wait for Me. A forthcoming young adult novel, The Middle Place, will be published by Atheneum Books. Her awards and honors include the Michael L. Printz Award, International Reading Association Award, National Book Award Finalist, ALA Best Books for Young Adults, New York Times Book Review Notable, and Junior Library Guild Selection. She lives in Vermont and is both a graduate and faculty member of the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults program. You can find her at: www.anwriting.com