
Each year, we survey students and teachers after they attend the Young Authors Conference. These are the combined results that we produced from the 2023 conferences.
2023 YAC Stats:
2,649 Students 36 Presenters
From the 2023
March / May conferences:


20% of students were in 4th grade, 38% in 5th grade, 16% in 6th grade, 15% in 7th grade, and 11% in 8th grade.
On a scale of 1-5, 90% of students rated Young Authors Conference as 4 or 5.
86% of students had never attended the Young Authors Conference and 94% of students that attended want to come back next year.
96% of students said the Young Authors Conference encouraged and challenged them to be better writers.
98% of students said the Young Authors Conference gave them new strategies, ideas, and skills to become better writers.
94% of students left the Young Authors Conference understanding that strong writing skills are important in life.
Students said…


“Thanks for the opportunity to learn about writing!”
“I loved the time I spent writing here!”
“Learning about cultural representation is very cool and I’m glad this gave me the opportunity to know more about how to use it.”
“I wish I could do all the different sessions!”
“It was really fun being a college student for a day!”
“This really got my mind thinking, thank you!”
“It was awesome and now I want to be an author.”
Teachers said…


“My kids loved every session they went to!”
“I could not attend as many sessions as I desired! All 10 sessions I sampled were valuable.”
“Wonderful opportunity for kids – very well coordinated and great system for navigating a complicated building. Thank you!”
“Fabulous engagement from all the presenters – the keynote, and the sessions.”
“Speakers/authors were very engaging – you can tell they love what they do and love sharing it with the kids.”
“The kids were amazing – so creative and so brave to share their ideas, words, and stories! It’s truly inspiring!”
SparkPath presents its programs in collaboration with BrightWorks (formerly Metro ECSU). BrightWorks member districts/schools save 30-50% on SparkPath registration fees. For more information, visit www.brightworksmn.org.