On September 8, 2014, Mrs. Decker, Mr. Hall and Ms. Redick took a group of 7th and 8th grade students to the Teen Reader Con at Acadia Middle School in Clifton Park.  The event was organized by some Capital Region school librarians.  Six authors, some local and others from as far as away as California, were invited to speak to young readers/teens and give them advice about writing.

Galway students arrived at 8:30 a.m. and left TeenReaderCon at  4:30 p.m. (8 hours, I know!).  To become familiar with the different books each author wrote, students watched a series of book trailers before listening to presenter Coach Johns talk about acting with respect always and behaving with character.  After Coach Johns’ presentation, the authors came on stage to participate in a Q & A.  Author Joseph Bruchac, who resides in Greenfield–only 20 minutes from Galway, shared that when he was younger, as he turned pages in a book he was reading, he would tear off the page corners and eat them, a fact 7th grader Rachel Germain said will stick with her.  Author Jackie Morse Kessler who lives in Delmar and writes fantasy and dystopian novels shared that her favorite food is chocolate.

Jay Asher had traveled from California to meet us.  His best-selling novel 13 Reasons Why was originally called “Baker’s Dozen” but he and the other authors shared how they don’t have much input on the titles or the cover design.  Their agents and editors make some of those decisions.

After the preview, the authors hosted smaller group of students as they rotated through 4 (really 3 if they took a lunch) sessions. Eric Devine, according to 7th grader Aidan Holbrook one of the funniest men alive,  is a teacher in the Burnt Hills school district.   During his workshop, he sent a picture of the crowd of students anxious to hear from him to his mom.  He then talked about how his childhood experiences and how his observations during teaching have helped him to write the stories he wants to.  He also talked about about handling rejections until he eventually got the right agent and pitched the right idea.  Jay Asher also talked during his session about his journey to get published.  Ms. Redick was impressed with how personable he was: “I thought he (Asher) was entertaining and humble.  He proved that authors aren’t snotty.  One of 7th grader Rachel Wnuk’s highlights for the day was when Jay Asher talked about how he surprised his wife with the news his book had been sold: “He took her to the spot where they got married! ‘Awww,’ cooed the crowd.”

Joseph Bruchac played a Native American instrument during his presentation  He also talked about the plot of his novels and that there is often a Native American connection.  He has recently written Killer of Enemies, Dragon Castle and Code Talker.  Some of his books are realistic fiction and others are historical fiction.  Steve Sheinken writes historical fiction novels also.  He used to write for a textbook company and doesn’t want history to be dull for students.  He has written Lincoln’s Grave Robbers, The Bomb and The Race to Build and Steal-the world’s most dangerous weapon.  8th grader Christian Hines approves of Sheinken’s approach:  “Steve stands for making nonfiction awesome.”

Mrs. Vandenburgh met the group there.  She was pleased with each session she went to, but Patricia McCormick was her favorite:  “I love her.  She takes hard subjects and puts them in interesting books for teenagers.”

The final presentation in the auditorium involved the authors composing a story rapid fire after pulling words randomly from a bowl.  Then, there was time for students to get the books they brought or purchased there signed.  For many it was the first meet and greet with an author and first opportunity to have a book signed.

Looking for a good read?  Watch the book trailers by clicking on the playlist below. There are 13 so keep watching!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKs74qAjDz8&list=PLEHqmPXa673sCnRelwrgoyzPkezKrJsLr&index=13