Literature is the lifeblood of our culture; classic stories have inspired and uplifted millions. Despite this, many teens don’t feel they have the time or motivation to read these classic stories independently. Many teens also feel intimidated by the prospect of contributing to this body of work themselves as writers.
Starting this summer, the Austin Public Library will begin hosting a free weekly book club for teens ages 13-18, held every Saturday. The first meeting will be held on May 25, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., in the Austin Central Library, located downtown at 710 W. Cesar Chavez. Writers can pick up the first free book, Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
The book club will focus on reading various classic and more recent speculative fiction books and learning how to apply them to attendees’ work. This book club is a hub for teen fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and magical realism writers. Reading literature in these genres is essential to developing writing skills. Attendees will be able to hone their skills in creative writing and experience exciting new tales.
Participants will receive a free copy of the featured book each week. Additionally, the book club itself is free to attend. Some short novels will be featured, including Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot, Daniel Keyes’ Flowers for Algernon, and N.K. Jemisin’s The Killing Moon, among many others. The Austin Library Foundation, an organization dedicated to supporting Austin’s libraries, has donated the books to participants.
According to Austin Central Library teen program coordinator Leticia Leal, Badgerdog Creative Writing Camps also agreed to send two teaching artists to lead some sessions. Author Ali Riegel will lead groups on Kindred and Ted Chiang’s novella, The Story of Your Life. Writer Kit Cura will lead sessions around Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House and Ursula Le Guin’s The Lathe of Heaven. Badgerdog is a summer camp that inspires youth to pursue creative writing endeavors by learning from professionals.
The sessions will be a safe space for discussion, analysis, and learning about the fiction techniques used in the books. Teens will also complete writing exercises and have the opportunity to share each others’ work.
