3 YA authors visit South High

Three Young Adult Authors Visit South High on Feb 27th.

On February 27th, we invited three young adult authors to be a part of a YA science fiction and fantasy panel that would present to students in a Question and Answer format.  Let me recount the day for you.

First we invited Anne Greenwood Brown, author of Lies Beneath and Deep Betrayal to have lunch with staff and book club students.

We met in the media center for a lively lunch conversation on Lies Beneath.  Anne signed Deep Betrayal bookmarks for all of us.  She shared the meaning behind the names of the characters and why she set the book in Ashland and Bayfield Wisconsin on Lake Superior.  She wrote the book for her son who hasn't read it yet.  Anne used to be an English teacher and is currently a lawyer and accomplished author.  She said men in their 70's have read her book and written her to say they loved it.  We talked about the cover of Lies Beneath and why they didn't put a male on the cover.  Authors don't get a say in what their book cover looks like.  Students were so happy to meet with her and enjoy a riveting conversation on writing and reading.
Thanks Anne!
Here is a picture of the second lunch book group.

After lunch author M.R. Tain arrived with his wife Sheryl who is a graduate of South High.
M.R. Tain aka Martin Bracewell is an author of two books,  Peace, Man and This isn't Normal.

Then Anna Waggener, author of Grim arrived.

The audience was made up of AP Human Geography students and a set of English classrooms.  Book club members were also invited.

Each author took a turn to introduce themselves and their books and then we opened it up for a Question and Answer session.  One question was on their favorite authors or books.

Anna Waggener said she is a new fan of John Green and M.R. Tain said C.S. Lewis is one of his favorite authors.  Anne Greenwood Brown mentioned Maggie Stiefvater as influencing her.  It was a great experience.  Here is a picture of the great YA authors in our media center with their books on the table.  That is me (Laura Lanik aka Booksnob) behind them.

After the panel, two authors, Anna Waggener and M.R.Tain joined me in my classroom for a more personal talk with the students.  I think many of  my students were in awe of the writing accomplishments of Anna and Martin.  Anne wrote the first draft of Grim when she was still in high school.  The students kept the authors busy with questions.  For Martin, it was his first time presenting in a high school.  I think he enjoyed the experience.  Anna works for a local publishing house called Coffee House Press.  Both authors are at work on their next book.

Thanks Anne, Anna and M. R. Tain for taking the time to visit South High and share your reading and writing experiences with us.  I hope you gained new South High readers.