Authors and fans of young adult books will gather at the bookstore in the Student Union Building on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University from March 7–9. Students and writers interested in attending the first two days of the Southeastern Young Adult (SE-YA) Book Festival must register in advance, though the last day of the festival, Saturday, March 9, is free and open to the community.

Barb Collie, who serves on the SE-YA executive board, says that this is the fourth year for the book fest and that the primary goal, and mission statement, of the festival is to encourage and develop literacy in young adults by connecting them with authors, thereby advancing education in the community.

The event will also place teens and the writers of the books they love in a setting involving panels with the authors, meet-and-greets, writing workshops and other activities and experiences.

SE-YA Book Fest writing workshop topics will include Writing Emotionally Authentic Characters with Katie McGarry, Writing for Justice: The Power of Nonfiction with Andrew Maraniss, Turning an Idea Into a Book with Mark Oshiro, Novel Ideas with Kat Zhang, and Poetry Palooza: Bringing Poems to Life on the Page and on the Stage with Allan Wolf.

Readers will also have opportunities to get their books signed by the authors.

For more information on the 2019 SE-YA Book Fest, registration, schedules and more, visit seyabookfest.com.