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Department of English

group photo of 2023 award winners, holding fresno state posters

Young Writers' Conference

Hosted annually by Fresno State's Department of English, the YWC gathers hundreds of Central California's brightest young writers and their teachers on campus for a day of creative writing and imagination.


This year's event:

Wednesday, April 24, 2024
8:15 a.m. to 2 p.m.

On campus: Satellite Student Union
Online: Zoom

Manuscript deadline:

Tuesday, February 20, 2024

Registration deadline:

Monday, April 8, 2024

Keynote Speaker: Navdeep Singh Dhillon

headshot photo of navdeep singh dhillon

Navdeep Singh Dhillon is the author of Sunny G’s Series of Rash Decisions, a young-adult novel published by Penguin Teen about a cosplaying, crocheting Punjabi teen on a prom-night adventure through Fresno with a Hmong cosplaying love interest, as he comes to terms with grief, identity, and life after high school. Sunny G has appeared on most-anticipated lists at Buzzfeed, Bookshop, Brightly, Pop Goes the Reader, Beyond the Bookends, Book Riot, and elsewhere.

Sunny G received a starred review at Booklist Review, which said: “Perfect for fandom lovers and for fans of John Green and Sandhya Menon, Sunny G is a cerebral novel full of heart. It’s not one to miss.”

Born in England, raised in Tanzania, Nigeria, Dubai, and Fresno, Navdeep is a Punjabi boy at heart. He was a linguist in the U.S. Navy, worked as a lifeguard at Wild Water Adventure Park for many years, and his strangest job was selling overpriced knives as a door-to-door salesman. He is a proud alumnus of Fresno State and while he spends most of the year in the NYC area, he spends his summers in Fresno.