The Northwest Ohio Teen Book Festival will be held Saturday, April 23 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Rossford Junior/Senior High. Admission is free.
“We want to make this book festival unique from other festivals, aside from the fact that it is in Northwest Ohio,” says Denise Phillips, one of the committee chairs for the festival. “It kicks off with a keynote presentation like most festivals, but since it is being given by Mindy McGinnis, I expect it will not be a traditional keynote. It then moves on to 4 breakout sessions and the participants can choose from at least 7 options per breakout. We have worked to ensure there are options for everyone, so aside from the traditional panel discussions on topics such as world building and mystery writing, we also have interactive sessions such as a poetry slam, an escape room, and sessions on how to “pitch” your own story or book idea, and write your own comics or graphic novel. Of course, the day ends with the authors signing books.”
The festival planners also worked hard to ensure that the festival was accessible for everyone. The event is free, and lunch will be provided for all participants. Local businesses have provided sponsorships so that the festival can cover the costs of busing students to the festival. Schools can apply for a bus sponsorship on the festival’s website.
The heart of the festival is encouraging teens and tweens to read, and how reading can benefit everyone, “We wanted to ensure that the authors and books featured at the festival would be both mirrors and doors for the participants,” according to Phillips.
Rudine Sims Bishop, Professor Emerita of Education at Ohio State University, introduced the idea of books as mirrors and doors in a 1990 essay. The idea is that books can and should be doors into the realities of others as well as mirrors that reflect the life of the reader.
With 25 authors and illustrators attending the festival, it is the hope of the planning committee that every participant can find a mirror and a door in the books by those authors.
Shelley Bertsch, Teacher, Librarian, Book Club Advisor, and Speech and Debate Coach at Rossford Junior/Senior High , and committee member for the Northwest Ohio Teen Book Festival, adds, “I’m so happy to be a part of an organization that is bringing the power of the written word to teens in Northwest Ohio. It is more important than ever that students can read critically and for pleasure. That they see themselves in a story, and to know that they are not alone.”
Finally, the organizers hope that the festival allows the students a public space to share their excitement about stories, authors, and their own potential.
Phillips said: “The data on teen reading looks pretty bleak. Each year there seems to be a new report that teens are reading less. A study done in the 2019-2020 school year reported the expected information that students are reading for fun is less than the previous year. However if you look at the data, it says that 29% of 13-year olds ‘Never or hardly ever’ read for fun, but that means that 71% of 13-year olds do still read for fun sometimes. I hope that by putting on this festival those 71% will get to share the fun of reading with each other and perhaps we can convince a few of the 29% to give it a shot again.”
For more information about the Northwest Ohio Teen Book Festival including the participating authors, schedule for the day, and how to register, you can check out their website at https://nwoteenbookfest.com/.
