Canyon Crest Academy’s Creative Writing Club announces Kiersten White and Maureen Johnson as keynote speakers

Canyon Crest Academy’s Creative Writing Club recently announced the final two keynotes for the 10th Annual CCA Writers’ Conference. It will be held online over four days from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Feb. 20 -21, and March 6-7, 2021. This event is the only free writing conference for middle school and high school students in the country. Registration is now open at ccawritersconference2021.weebly.com/ .

Author Kiersten White

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Kiersten White will present the keynote on Saturday, March 6. She is the New York Times bestselling, Bram Stoker Award-winning and critically-acclaimed author of many books, including the And I Darken trilogy, the Slayer series, the Camelot Rising trilogy, and her upcoming adult debut, Hide. Her books have been published in over 20 territories, and her novel The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein is currently in development with Sony Pictures Television.

White said, “Young writers bring so much energy and creativity to whatever they write, and I always love opportunities to engage with them. I’m so glad CCA has provided an alternative to their traditional conference.”

Author Maureen Johnson

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Maureen Johnson will present the keynote on Sunday, March 7. She is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of several YA (young adult) novels, including 13 Little Blue Envelopes, Suite Scarlett, The Name of the Star, and Truly Devious. She has also done collaborative works, such as Let It Snow with John Green and Lauren Myracle (now on Netflix), and several works in the Shadowhunter universe with Cassandra Clare. Her work has appeared in publications such as The New York Times, Buzzfeed, and The Guardian, and she has also served as a scriptwriter for EA Games.

Sophie Camilleri, president of the CCA Creative Writing Club, notes, “We are delighted to have Kiersten White and Maureen Johnson as keynote speakers. They are both incredibly talented YA authors and excellent speakers. Both are NY Times bestselling authors whose stories have been or are being produced for TV or film. I know our student attendees will enjoy learning from them and will appreciate them sharing their knowledge with us.”

The club is honored to have the financial support of it sponsors including: Hamilton Education, UC San Diego Extension Writing, San Diego Writers and Editors Guild, San Diego Book Awards Association, the CCA Foundation, and Jimbo’s Naturally!.

The Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore will sell speakers’ books through a special website for attendees. They have been long-time supporters of the conference.