The truth is, there’s no time when we need these teens more to be leaders for the next generation of readers. It’s been a turbulent summer in the world, with events all too often highlighting the destructive powers of hate, fear, and prejudice, and these writers have been creating both within this context and against this world view. We are proud of the mature ways that these teenagers have handled discussions of bias, authority, and protest, and of the ways they have channeled these lessons into both fun and meaningful stories for young readers.

“I was held back in second grade,” one of the writers said. “But it wasn’t my fault--the teacher was evil.” The rest of the group started to become engaged as they shared stories of all of their evil teachers and their cruel tactics: pinching them, hitting them with rulers, calling their parents. They decided they wanted to write a story about an evil second grade teacher. They talked about how they had told their parents about their evil teachers but nobody believed them. These writers wanted to create a story to empower kids to make a difference for themselves.

Guess who was spotlighted recently in a Boston Globe article called, "The Summer Reading List We Really Need"?

Our fearless, peerless partners at Reach, Inc., for not only teaching literacy skills, but for "cultivating a love of reading." We're thrilled to be coaching their teens once again to write books that both educate and entertain, and that inspire young readers to ask, "Wait, can I be an author, too?" (Our answer: Yes, please.)