2019-2022 Chapter One Young Writers Conference Team
Conference Director: Emma Rose Ryan
Emma Rose Ryan is a graduate student at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, working towards a Masters degree in Library and Information Sciences. She hopes to become a school librarian near you in the not-too-distant future. She’s been a member of the Chapter One Young Writers Conference team since the event’s inception, and she was honored to take on the role of Director in 2017. Emma writes middle-grade and YA fiction, focusing on paranormal and urban fantasy genres. When she’s not writing, Emma can be found performing Shakespeare, watching The Good Place, or petting someone else’s cat.
Chief Creative Consultant: Zoe Noble
Zoe is an artist and student from Iowa. Aside from writing novels, short fiction, poetry, and songs, her favorite pastimes include playing music, fiber arts, and dog-watching. Her writing has been featured in her school newspaper and Transitions, Ch1Con’s first-edition short fiction and poetry anthology, and she has performed her original music at various open-mic nights and art shows around her community. If not watching Netflix in blanket caves with her hedgehog or living vicariously through her Sims, she can be found retweeting animals @thenoblezoe.
Marketing and Social Media Manager: Christel Thompson
Christel Thompson is a poet and novelist, based in Chicago. Fluent in four languages, she recently earned her B.L.A at the University of Illinois, and is now actively immersing herself in all the culture possible. Christel can be found reading by day and unable to get to sleep by night. Outside of her literary endeavors, Christel is a portrait photographer, avid tea-drinker, and professional makeup hoarder. She has professed that she’s loathe to speak about herself in the third person but has been known to be persuaded on occasion.
Deputy Marketing Manager: Joey Brant
Joey is a student who can often be found reading Sarah J. Maas under his desk during class. His favorite books to read are Young Adult Fantasy and Young Adult Contemporary Fiction. While he hasn’t found his niche in writing, he enjoys writing fantasy and horror the most. When Joey is not reading or writing, he is most likely binge-watching Scandal or listening to Billie Eilish.
Graphic Design: Thank you to Nicole Dowling for her freelance graphic design work!
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