Alice B. McGinty, of Urbana, has 39 children – though only two are biological.

Drawing on her now adult sons for inspiration, McGinty, alumna, 45, has written more than 37 books and has plans for more in the future.

“They are all my babies,” McGinty said.

Just as it is not easy raising a child, it is not easy to develop a children’s book, but McGinty said it is her favorite part: finding the story, capturing the essence of a character or person’s life.

“It’s a real art to get something down to its most basic level,” McGinty said, “and not to be really wordy and have hundreds and hundreds and thousands and thousands of words piled on top of each other. I really enjoy taking a story or subject and palming it down. It’s like polishing a diamond. You have to keep polishing and polishing until you get that really shiny center.”

Writing anything from nonfiction educational books to picture-book biographies to fiction, McGinty has been writing for more than 20 years and will be honored in the first Youth Literature Festival.

The festival brings nationally recognized children’s book and young adult authors to the Champaign-Urbana community Thursday through Saturday.

The authors will travel to Champaign-Urbana area schools and read to students Thursday and Friday and the event will culminate in a series of activities on campus Saturday.

Nancy O’Brien, co-chair of the festival, said the idea behind the festival was to unite the community and campus in a way that would promote literature and higher education among children.

“It will give children who wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to hear directly from a famous author the chance to listen to them talk about their work or read their books,” O’Brien said. “All of the children will have the same opportunity to hear these incredibly entertaining and educational authors.”

O’Brien said the authors have varied backgrounds, each bringing a unique perspective.

For example, M.E. Kerr, 80, lived through World War II and has experienced life in a way that most parents have not.

Kerr jumped into controversial topics as they happened, penning the first novel about AIDS in which the protagonist was a homosexual male. Kerr has also written about the World Wars and issues surrounding them, like the Holocaust and conscientious objectors.

“I hate the idea of a problem novel,” Kerr said. “But I like to write about things that are serious. I guess people have said that I write about losers, but I don’t think of it that way. I think about it as I write about people who have their problems by winning, but they usually begin by something they have to overcome and accept.”

For more than 59 years, Kerr has been writing, adapting her works as the times change.

“You can learn while you are working,” Kerr said. “It makes it more interesting. I don’t think some of the things I write about have to be a young perspective.”

After 60 books and 80 years of life, Kerr has not slowed down.

“I don’t find it hard to still be writing,” Kerr said. “It’s more challenging and more interesting because you have had a longer life.”