Author Pete Hautman’s success is no surprise to Park english teacher Rosalyn Korst. In fact, she hopes some of the students anticipated to meet Hautman this upcoming Saturday at the Twin Cities Teen Lit Con may follow a similar path.

Born in Berkeley in 1952, Hautman moved to Park in 1958 where he attended Cedar Manor and graduated from the high school. Park’s strong academic rigor and writing programs create a breeding ground for budding authors, according to Korst. Korst said she hopes Hautman’s connection to Park will inspire students to utilize the resources provided at Park to achieve their potential through writing.

“We’ve got lots of talent at Park,” Korst said. “There are lots of kids with passion for writing and seeing Hautman’s success will help ignite it more.”

Hautman, along with several other popular teen novelists, will present and sign novels and discuss the process of writing a published work at Teen Lit Con. This conference aims to promote appreciation for literature and offer teens the opportunity to seek advice from and discuss writing with their favorite novelists, according to Korst.

Park Book club adviser Ellen George plans to attend the event with members of the book club. George said she views Hautman as inspiration for students at Park and hopes the conference will help students realize their potential.

“If students realize the amazing things so many Park graduates, like Pete, have done it will make them stop and wonder ‘What makes me special? What has Park taught me that I have to offer?’” she said.

Korst said she agreed with George and said she hopes attending the conference will kindle students’ passion for by allowing them to discuss writing with a published author.

“There are ten authors here to talk with and encourage young writers to view writing as a career path,” she said. “There’s nothing better for young people interested in writing than learning about the process first hand.”

In addition to offering participants of the conference the opportunity to meet published authors, Teen Lit Con features hands-on book arts, workshops, photo booths and book sales and signing.

Teen Lit Con goes from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m this Saturday, May 17, at  Henry Sibley High School. The program is free. Buses meeting at Edina High School will leave at 9 a.m. and return at 5 p.m.