Provo author heading children's book conference

There are readers, and there are writers, and you can't have one without the other.

"If you read, you can do anything," says local author Carol Lynch Williams. "Books can teach you almost anything."

That's especially important for young people to know, she says. "If you want to read as an adult, you have to read as a child. There are not tons and tons of people who pick up a book at age 40 and turn into readers."

But to turn children into lifelong readers, you also have to have writers to write those books that will teach and inspire, that will foster creativity and imagination, that will immerse them in the wonderful world of words.

The world of children's and young-adult literature is booming right now, she says. "What's out there now for kids is some of the best that has ever been written. It's accessible; it makes kids want to read. I used to pick up nonfiction books especially that were so boring. But now you can find everything that really pulls you in."

The rise of the fantasy genre has contributed in no small part to that market. Whatever else Harry Potter has done, it proved that kids will read big, long books, Williams says.

What's going on in this area of books for children and young adults is exciting, but also challenging, especially for new writers. It is a very competitive market these days, says Williams.

But, she says, Utah has become known as fertile ground in this field. "Editors and agents in New York have asked me what's in the water out here. For many years, editors have been finding terrific talent out here."

Williams herself is the author of more than 20 novels for middle-grade and young-adult readers. She is also an organizer of an annual Writing & Illustrating for Young Readers Workshop that has been instrumental in pairing up a lot of local authors with big-market agents and editors.

Now in its 11th year, the workshop has been held previously at Brigham Young University. "But we have outgrown the conference center there," Williams says. Although workshop sessions are purposely kept small, limited to no more than 14 participants so they can get a lot of personal attention, afternoon plenary sessions were outgrowing the space.

So this year, the Writers & Illustrators conference will be held at the Waterford School in Sandy. "We still have the support of the English department at BYU, but now we have a 500-seat auditorium," Williams says, "and a potential for further expansion."