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Bestselling Author April Henry Visits Severn School for Middle School Author Series
September 12th marked the 5th annual Middle School Author Series and Writers Workshop, organized by Library Director Whitney Etchison.
Designed to spark excitement about reading, the full-day program featured an author presentation and small-group writing workshops.
This year, all Middle School students read the mystery novel Playing with Fire by New York Times Bestseller April Henry. “Each year we focus on a different genre of book,” says Etchison, “and Henry was a no-brainer because mystery novels are really having a moment right now!”
April Henry’s Presentation
Students gathered in Price auditorium for Henry’s morning presentation, where she shared her immersive approach to writing. “I’ve run with handcuffs on to see if it was hard to do,” says Henry with a smirk, “I’ve taken a knife fighting class. I’ve even been voluntarily kidnapped in LA to see if I could escape.”
Henry discussed her writing process, offered tips for young authors, and answered questions about creating characters, plotlines, and titles. Afterward, she held a book signing, asking each student their name as she admittedly used unique names for her characters from time to time. Students left clutching their autographed copies of Playing with Fire before heading off to the day’s other activities.
Writing Workshops
For students especially interested in writing, Henry led small workshops focused on crafting plot lines, overcoming writer’s block, and exploring the idea of writing about what you want to know versus what you already know. In one group activity, Henry pulled names from a phone book and asked students to imagine and describe the characters behind the names—the results were both creative and hilarious. She then challenged everyone to pick one character and give them a problem to solve.
“It’s great for the students to get to work with a published author, says Etchison, “it shows them that anyone can become a writer! And the whole point of it all is to get the kids excited about reading.”
As the day wrapped up, Henry left students with some parting words of advice: “Make writing a habit—don’t wait for inspiration,” she said. With a playful grin, she added, “These skills helped me get to where I am today… and I kill people, but only on paper.”
