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Minnesota writer John Coy to speak at literacy conference

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November 2, 2009

A literacy conference that features award-winning Minnesota writer John Coy is Friday, Nov. 13 at Gorecki Dining and Conference Center, College of Saint Benedict, St. Joseph.

The third annual “Writing Central: A Day for Literacy at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University” is a state-wide event aimed at educators (grades K-12) to reach their students and to get them to read and write. It is sponsored by the education department at CSB and SJU.

Coy speaks at 9 a.m. on “Yes We Can: Instilling a Love of Reading.” Coy, a 1980 graduate of SJU, will reflect on the stories and teachers who introduced him to the power of reading and writing. While today’s students have many alternatives that affect their leisure and learning time, Coy will explore how a little thought and passion can instill a love of reading.

His books include Night Driving, a Marion Vannett Ridgway Memorial Award winner and a Horn Book Fanfare title; Strong to the Hoop, an American Library Association Notable Book; Two Old Potatoes and Me, a Charlotte Zolotow Honor Book, a Nickelodeon Jr.'s Best Book of the Year, and a featured book on Reading Rainbow; and Vroomaloom Zoom, a book of excellence on the Children's Literature Choice List. His newest picture book Around the World is about international basketball. His young adult novels include Crackback, set in the high-stakes world of high school football, and Box Out, about boys' basketball, girls' basketball and taking a stand.

Breakout sessions follow Coy’s presentation at 10:10 a.m., 11:10 a.m. and 1:10 p.m. In addition to Coy, several breakout presenters have ties to CSB and SJU. Mary Anderson, Katie Krause and Grace Nohner are all CSB graduates; Rachel Malchow Lloyd is an instructor in the education department at CSB and SJU; Jake Knaus is a former instructor in the department; and award-winning poet Larry Schug is the recycling coordinator at CSB.

The sessions and their presenters include:

  • Seeing Ourselves as Writers (Coy)
  • Writing in a Digital World (Elizabeth Boeser, Bloomington Jefferson High School);
  • Coaches and Classrooms (Knaus and Megan Pershica, Burroughs Elementary School, Minneapolis);
  • The Six Traits in the Secondary Classroom (Krause, Century Middle School, Lakeville; Nohner, Orono High School);
  • A Writing Workshop that Works (Anderson, SS. Peter, Paul and Michael Primary School, St. Cloud);
  • Thinking and Writing Ethnographically in High School English (Linda Mork and Mary Freng-Gunderson, Champlin Park High School; Malchow Lloyd);
  • A Classroom of One (Stacy Gustafson, Bayview Elementary School, Waconia)
  • A Life in Poetry (Schug)

Cost is $65, which includes a continental breakfast, coffee break and lunch. The registration deadline is Nov. 11. Interested persons can call 320-363-5508 to receive a registration form, or go to www.csbsju.edu/education/pdfs/Literacy_Conference_Registration2.pdf for a copy of the form.