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About Our Program
About Our Program
An annual event in Chatham County Schools, the Young Authors program was founded by a school librarian of 47 years, Mrs. Mary Lee Moore, in 1989 to celebrate student authors in grades K-8 across Chatham County Schools! Thus, we are excited to announce that our 34th annual Young Authors will take place January 6 through May 1, 2025. Everything teachers, staff, students, and families need to help make Young Authors a successful and rewarding experience is on this page.
"Every student has an opportunity to be an author."
Posting about Young Authors on social media? Please tag:
#CCSYoungAuthors #CCSLibraryMedia
#CCSDigitalLearning #OneChatham
Mrs. Mary Lee Moore reads a story to Chatham County Schools students.
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Check out our theme song titled "Young Wordsmiths."
The 2025 edition of the Young Authors Program commences on January 6, 2025. We have implemented a few adjustments to last year's format, which are outlined below:
Although it is not mandatory, we strongly encourage students to utilize Book Creator for crafting, editing, and finalizing their stories.
Schools will have increased flexibility regarding the submission of stories and the judging process for students participating in the district-wide competition.
It is the responsibility of schools to ensure that each student's submission is reviewed prior to its entry into the district portion of the contest. This process guarantees that students in need receive timely attention on campus.
Additionally, the guidelines regarding student submissions that use generative AI are included in the breakdown linked above.
Ms. Amber Ivey is this year’s featured author. She will be visiting each of our elementary, middle, and K-8 schools during the week of February 18-21, 2025.
Aside from these modifications, the program will remain consistent with last year. Schools will have access to a variety of resources designed to engage students in the program and support them throughout the writing process. Participation in the program is optional for students, who may also choose to have their submissions evaluated for the opportunity to be recognized at the end-of-program celebration on May 1, 2025.
School Library Media Coordinators (SLMCs) serves as the primary contact for any school-based inquiries regarding the program.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Images from Last Year's (2024) Showcase ➡️
Contest Information
Contest Information
Our theme for 2025 is:
Ready Or Not, Here (A)I Come!
*All participation in the Young Authors program is completely optional and for fun.*
All Young Authors have the opportunity to publish their stories on this website.
We ask that students submit their stories using one of the following methods: via Book Creator or by uploading their story as a PDF. (Instructions provided below.)
Young Authors also may enter a contest, for which each school will determine their top entries.
Authors of top entries from each school will be will be invited to attend our red carpet culminating ceremony on May 1, 2025.
While no grades are assigned to Young Authors program work, teachers may assign participation and other related grades to students for completing in-class activities associated with it at their discretion.
While students are strongly encouraged to participate in Young Authors, there is no requirement to do so.
For more information, please read the Letter Home to Families.
Submission Format
Book Creator
We recommend students create their stories using Book Creator. For help getting started, ask a teacher at your school who is familiar with Book Creator OR visit Book Creator's help center.
Students: When submitting, ask your school librarian for the invite code to their Book Creator library.
Students are welcome to create their stories without Book Creator; however, if they do, we ask that they submit their story as a PDF.
Example: if a student writes their story/draws their images on paper, the student would need to take photos of their work, convert them to PDFs, and then submit them.
Scroll further down this page for assistance with creating a PDF or click the "PDF Creation Help" link in the table of contents above.
Why PDFs?
PDFs (Portable Document Format) maintain the layout and design of a document across different devices and platforms. They're excellent for sharing documents without adjusting their formatting so that the document looks the same regardless of the device being used to view it. PDFs are also secure and can prevent editing, which is useful for distributing finalized documents or forms. In summary, they are the most attractive and consistent file format for reading books written by our Young Authors online.
Timeline of Events
Timeline of Events
January 6, 2025 - Program launch
January-March 2025 - Lesson/activity delivery and writing time; Amber Ivey author visits to schools (click here for the schedule)
March 21, 2025 - Young Author stories due for publication (and judging if they opt in)
March 21- April 11, 2025 - Judging of contest submissions
April 14-18, 2025 - Winners announced and invited to Culminating Ceremony
May 1, 2025 - End-of-Program Ceremony (red carpet event) 6:00-8:00 PM at Central Services building
(Awards will be delivered to schools of Young Authors who cannot attend the ceremony for any reason.)
Thank you for all your efforts in making this year's Young Authors event a successful and memorable experience for our students! This beloved Chatham County Schools tradition would not be possible without you.
Featured Author
Featured Author
Amber M. Ivey
Amber M. Ivey
Amber Ivey is the creator of the AiDigiTales, a platform that implements multiple modalities in order to teach AI to children. These modalities include a podcast, AI for Kids, the AiDigiTales YouTube channel, the AI Zone blog, and, particularly relevant to the Young Authors Program, a book series including the titles, AI... Meets... AI, My First AI Robot, and Let Kids Be Kids, Not Robots!
In addition to her AiDigiTales endeavors, Ms. Ivey has extensive professional leadership experience helping various entities use data in order to make informed and practical decisions. These entities include Fortune 500 companies, the state of Maryland government organizations, the Pew Charitable Trust, and Bloomberg Philanthropies.
“When we talk about technology, especially AI, it’s easy to focus on the mechanics – how it works, what it can do. But at its core, technology is about humans. It’s created by people, for people, and it’s meant to solve human problems. That’s why empathy, friendship, and environmental care are central themes in “AI… Meets… AI.” I wanted kids to understand that AI, while powerful, should be used in ways that are thoughtful and responsible” (Amber Ivey).
As the 2024-25 iteration of the Young Authors Program's featured author, this February, Ms. Ivey will be visiting all Chatham County elementary, middle, and K-8 schools.
Learn more about Ms. Ivey from her website and explore the AiDigiTales platform here.
School Visits & Videos
School Visits & Videos
Books and Resources
Books and Resources
Every school will receive two copies each of the following books and a workbook (with unlimited copy permissions from the author).
⬇️ Created by Amber Ivey ⬇️
⬇️ Created by Amber Ivey ⬇️
⬇️ District-Created ⬇️
⬇️ District-Created ⬇️
AI WORKSHEETS - AiDigiTales.pdfParent’s Guide to AI for Kids.pdf
Optional Contest Component
Optional Contest Component
Ready Or Not, Here (A)I Come!
Students can opt-in to a district-wide Young Authors contest.
Using school-agreed-upon procedures, schools will determine their three strongest student Young Authors submissions and notify the Digital Learning Team (DLT) about their decision. Each school’s three strongest submissions will be recognized at the district-wide celebration.
Submission Procedures
Students wishing to enter the contest should follow their school's agreed-upon procedures for submitting their stories for judging.
Judging Procedures
Option 1: Schools determine a judging process, judging pool, and develop a standardized rubric (can use district-developed rubric) in order to determine their three strongest student submissions.
Option 2: Schools can turn judging over to the DLT. The DLT will solicit judges from across the district; student submissions will be divided up among the judges. Using a district-developed rubric, judges will determine the three strongest submissions from each school opting for this process.
The judging and submission processes are available in the document below. Also included are the new guidelines regarding submissions using Generative AI.
The rubric that all schools should use while judging student's submissions is below.
Posting about Young Authors on social media? Please tag: #CCSYoung Authors #CCSLibraryMedia #CCSDigitalLearning #OneChatham
Additional Resources
Additional Resources
Supplemental Lessons
Supplemental Lessons
These supplemental lessons and activities are designed to get students excited about becoming authors!
#CCSLibraryMedia #CCSDigitalLearning #OneChatham
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