Hello all, This email goes out especially to all the public librarians and school librarians/media specialists on the list, but also to any of you with elementary school-aged children or elementary teachers in your life! *We need your help to spread the word about the Young Authors' Festival and its writing contest to kids, parents, and teachers in southeast Michigan!* [image: YAF_Logo_noyear.jpg] This year will mark the 7th annual Young Authors' Festival at the University of Michigan-Dearborn's Mardigian Library. The festival is completely FREE and open to students in grades 3-5, their families, and their teachers. We feature an author visit and fun writing breakout sessions led by our pre-service education students, while parents and teachers learn literacy strategies. We also have a writing contest, and present awards and prizes (Barnes & Noble gift certificates) at the festival. - 2019 Writing Contest deadline: *October 11* - 2019 Festival: *November 9* (Registration opens October 14) More info at: https://library.umd.umich.edu/yaf/ *Here's how you can help: * (1) Post the flyer <https://drive.google.com/open?id=14iivEYeVKjgsyWHk5F53RAu_mVRAAy_Q> or put it into the hands of someone who should have it. (2) Send out the info in a newsletter or share it on your blog. Have a social media feed? Share our Facebook event <https://www.facebook.com/events/374860506530756/> or give the posts in the Mardigian Library's social media content about the YAF a boost. (3) Encourage kids to read the featured book this summer, before they come to the festival this fall. It is Jean Alicia Elster's *The Colored Car*. There are lots of copies available through MeLCat <http://search.mel.org/iii/encore/record/C__Rb25978764>! (4) Do you have some young writers in your library or run any writing programming? Encourage kids (directly, or through parents and teachers) to enter our writing contest <https://library.umd.umich.edu/yaf/writingcontest.php>! (5) If you have any questions, please email yaf-contact@umich.edu. Really and truly, thank you for helping us to spread the word and bring kids from all over the metro-Detroit/southeastern Michigan region to this FREE event to promote literacy and a love of writing. Thank you, Raya Samet Prounouns: she/her Education, Health & Human Services Librarian University of Michigan - Dearborn Mardigian Library, Room 1252, AND Fairlane Campus South, Suite C, C6 313-593-4936 rsamet@umich.edu