Each year we survey Writer’s Digest Annual Conference attendees and ask which genres and categories they’re most interested in. Each year the young adult category is consistently near the top of the list. And for good reason—YA is white-hot on both the shelves and the screen and has tremendous crossover appeal.

If you’d like to deepen your understanding of writing for this audience, don’t miss Jennifer De Chiara’s session Secrets to Writing Middle-Grade and YA Fiction. A veteran of the publishing industry, Jennifer knows what piques an agent’s interest and keeps a reader turning pages. You’ll learn the specifics of the middle-grade and young adult categories, how to come up with a great story idea, and how to craft your story from beginning to end. You’ll also explore the keys to creating memorable characters, finding the right POV for your story, using subplots, developing a distinctive voice, discovering the theme for your book, and creating the perfect setting.

And don’t forget that New York Times bestselling author David Levithan (Boy Meets Boy, Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist [with Rachel Cohn], and Will Grayson, Will Grayson [with John Green]) will be delivering the event’s closing keynote! David is also an executive editor at Scholastic and the founding editor of their PUSH Imprint, which is devoted to finding new voices and new authors in teen literature.