The 2018 LitUp Festival will be held on May 12th at the North Independence Branch of the Mid-Continent Public Library in Independence, Missouri. It will be an all-day event that features nationally known authors and illustrators and includes panel discussions, writing and illustrating clinics, a writing contest, a poetry slam, music and food trucks!

Learn more at: litupfestival.org

If you are an aspiring writer or artist, you can enter your short fiction, non-fiction, poetry or visual art. Top entries will win great prizes, be featured in the LitUp anthology and be recognized at the festival on May 12th. Send your entry to:

https://midcontinentpubliclibrary.submittable.com/submit/105387/litup-festival-creative-contest

LitUp was started by Emery Uhlig, a 15-year-old student at Shawnee Mission East in Prairie Village, Kansas. An avid reader, Emery thought that there should be a book festival specifically designed for teenagers and young adults, and she has enlisted a broad community of readers, authors and organizations to make LitUp a reality. With the help of her founding partner, the Mid-Continent Public Library, and the generous support of sponsors, nationally known authors and illustrators, and even the Librarian of Congress, Dr. Carla Hayden, LitUp plans to expand to other states and countries in 2019.

If you would like to help organize a LitUp festival for your city, please visit litkit.org, and we’ll send you more information.