How to Create the Perfect Crime for Young Readers

PB? MG? YA? Early readers? Are you speaking a different language?

Yes, in a way, this is its own language. Because writing for children and teens has its own unique guidelines, challenges, and rewards. Dori Hillestad Butler and Kelly Garrett will break down the different categories of mysteries written for young (and young at heart) readers. They’ll discuss strategies for crafting mysteries for all different age groups, and you’ll walk away with useful tips and an appreciation for how writing something that feels so simple is surprisingly complex.

Dori Hillestad Butler is the author of more than 55 books for young readers including the Edgar award winning Buddy Files series, the two-time Geisel Honor award winning King & Kayla series, the Haunted Library series, the Dear Beast series and the brand-new Treasure Troop series. She’s also been a ghost writer for the Boxcar Children and other popular children’s series. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading, hiking, board games, walking her dog, and playing with the Seattle Mandolin Orchestra. She grew up in southern Minnesota, spent 19 years in Iowa, and now lives in Kirkland, Washington.

Kelly Garrett is the author of the Oregon Book Award-finalist YA thriller The Last To Die (Sourcebooks Fire) and, in 2020, received the Edna L. Holmes Fellowship in Young Readers, as part of the Oregon Literary Fellowships. As Emmeline Duncan, she writes the Ground Rules Series, starting with 2021’s Fresh Brewed Murder (Kensington). You can find her online at garrettkelly.com and emmelineduncan.com.

[See also the MWA Northwest’s website]