Young Authors Conference
2023 Event Information
Grade Levels: 3rd - 8th
Date: November 3rd, 2023
Location: Greystone Event Center
Time: 9:45 AM - 1:30 PM
Event Features:
Author Presentations
Illustrator Workshops
Autograph Sessions
Buckeye Book Fair Preview & Visit
2023 Authors
Merrill Wyatt grew up in Wauseon, Ohio, a small town nestled in the farm fields and woods of Northwest Ohio. She now lives in Sylvania, Ohio with her husband, teenage daughter, three cats, and a guinea pig who doesn’t like her very much. She teaches Business and Careers classes to middle schoolers. Many of whom would rather she mind her own business and not make them think about future careers, thank you very much.
Wyatt’s hobbies include kayaking and walking in Metroparks. (Which might sound boring, but it really isn’t. There could be a water monster in the Maumee River. There might be treasure buried somewhere in one of those parks. You never know.)
Florenza Lee is an author, publisher, narrative coach, transformational speaker, radio talk show host, Master Storyteller, wife, mother, and advocate for our Nation’s Veterans. Her interactive, engaging Children’s books focus on Social-Emotional Learning. Florenza’s dynamic characters immediately capture the readers’ attention, and her lessons remain long after the book is closed.
She and her husband, CSM (Ret US Army) Trefus Lee, have been married for 39 years and live in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. Their daughters, Jessica and Missy, call Las Vegas, Nevada, and Chagrin Falls, Ohio, home. Florenza is a member of SCBWI, AALBC, IPG, InScribe, and NK Tribe Called Success.
Jerzy Drozd is a cartoonist and teaching artist. He wrote and drew Science Comics: Rockets with my wife, Anne Drozd. He’s a member of the Ohio Arts Council’s Teaching Artist Roster and has a podcast about comics and how to make them. He is currently working on a middle-grade fantasy comic called Baron von Bear and the Case of the Two-Faced Statue.
She loves sushi, busting a move on the dance floor, and knitting. One of her first jobs was at a library, but it didn’t last long, because all she did was hide in the third-floor stacks and read. Now she's a little more careful about when and where she indulges her reading habit. By day she is a high school English teacher, by night, a wife and mom, and writer. Her words are almost always created with the companionship of the world’s cutest dog, Radley, a big cup of coffee, and a full bag of gummy peaches. Rachele lives in Cleveland, Ohio, but dreams of moving back to Boston, the city she fell in love with while attending graduate school.
About YAC
The Young Authors Conference is a partnership with all schools in Wayne, Holmes, and Ashland counties through Buckeye Book Fair’s established partnership with Tri-County Educational Service Center, the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education, and Ohio Arts Council. With over 400 students participating, the Young Authors Conference teaches students in grades 3-8 about the ins and outs of the writing and storytelling process. Students attend a one-day session where they work intensively with a teaching artist expert in writing, illustration, and publishing.
Activities and Resources
About us
Tri-County Educational Service Center is a public education organization supporting school districts in Wayne, Holmes, and Ashland Counties. Among many other supports, Tri-County ESC provides student engagement and learning opportunities. This year's Young Authors' Conference will mark the 50th such anniversary for this student event. For more information about TCESC, click here.
Buckeye Authors’ Book Fair Committee Inc. was created as a nonprofit entity in 1987 in Wooster, Ohio. The organization works exclusively with Ohio authors and illustrators to support literacy projects, including an annual book fair, author lectures, and teacher and student workshops. The annual “Buckeye Book Fair” event is one of Ohio’s premier book fairs and has become the organization’s DBA. Buckeye Book Fair serves thousands of Ohio readers, writers, teachers, students, and families who participate in our programs each year. For more information about BBF, click here.
