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How do your students tell their stories? Whether they’re writing or recording we want to know – and help spread their messages! Registration is open for local students to enter original work to WSKG’s Youth Voices programs. Deadline to enter for all three contests is 5/27/22. Click on the projects below for more information. Rod Serling Film Festival | Open to K-12 students across the U.S.!
Off The Page from WSKG · Off the Page – Mary Gauthier
Mary Gauthier was twelve years old when she was given her Aunt Jenny’s old guitar and taught herself to play with a Mel Bay basic guitar workbook. Music offered her a window to a world where others felt the way she did. Songs became lifelines to her, and she longed to write her own, one day. Then, for a decade, while struggling with addiction, Gauthier put her dream away and her call to songwriting faded. It wasn’t until she got sober and went to an open mic with a friend did she realize that she not only still wanted to write songs, she needed to.
When an eccentric billionaire loses control of his island resort-slash-theme park, literature professor Addie Cox is an unlikely choice to help fix the situation. But it’s no ordinary theme park: this is pure wizardry come to life, with unicorns, talking rabbits – and murder. The book is called Questland, a mad mashup of Jurassic Park and Dungeons and Dragons. Bestselling author Carrie Vaughn nerds out with host Crystal Sarakas about all things geek on the latest episode of Off the Page.
Thank you to all of the young writers who shared work with us during the 2021 Student Writing Challenge. Congratulations to the following students who are receiving honors. You can watch our awards ceremony here. Materials for the 2022 contest are available here! FICTION
Best Fiction, Grades K-1
‘Look Where Your Keys Go’ by Audriann G., Vestal, NY
Best Fiction, Grades 2-3
‘My Fractured Fairy Tale’ by Cameron W., Vestal, NY
Best Fiction, Grades 4-5
‘Haunted Manor’ by Grayden E., Conklin, NY
Best Fiction, Grades 6-8
‘The Discontented Man’ by Heyan C., Vestal, NY
Best Fiction, Grades 9-12
‘The Siege of the Sea’ by Daisy D., Binghamton, NY
Honorable Mention, Grades 9-12
‘Heaven or Hell, that is the Question’ by Emma P., Owego, NY
PERSONAL ESSAY/NON-FICTION
Best Personal Essay/Non-Fiction, Grades K-1
‘About Children’ by Zelda S., Vestal, NY
Best Personal Essay/Non-Fiction, Grades 2-3
‘Wolf Connection’ by Amina S., Binghamton, NY
Honorable Mention, Grades 2-3
‘Personal Narrative’ by Zoey R., Lodi, NY
Best Personal Essay/Non-Fiction, Grades 4-5
‘The Cat and the Coconut’ by Maya S., Vestal, NY
Best Personal Essay/Non-Fiction, Grades 9-12
‘Screaming for Those that Can’t’ by Erin R., Binghamton, NY
POETRY
Best Poetry, Grades 2-3
‘Art’ by Moussia S., Vestal, NY
Honorable Mention, Grades 2-3
‘Ducks’ by Shterny C., Vestal, NY
Best Poetry, Grades 4-5
‘Freedom’ by Mushky C., Vestal, NY
Honorable Mention, Grades 4-5
‘Death Poem’ by Aviva K., Vestal, NY
Best Poetry, Grades 6-8
‘The Wall’ by Faris S., Vestal, NY
Best Poetry, Grades 9-12
‘Real-ationship’ by Lily B., Binghamton, NY
Honorable Mention, Grades 9-12
‘Women’ by Lydia C., Apalachin, NY
TEXT WITH VISUALS
(GRAPHIC NOVEL, ILLUSTRATED WORK, PICTURE BOOK)
Best Text with Visuals, Grades K-1
‘How to Brush Your Teeth’ by Anastasia G., Binghamton, NY
Best Text with Visuals, Grades 4-5
‘The Lone Hero’ by Bilal K., Vestal, NY
Best Text with Visuals, Grades 6-8
‘The Queen Called Evil’ by Imogen K. and Hannah J., Binghamton, NY
Thank you to Mary Ann Karre, Lonna Pierce, Sarah Reid, Sara-Jo Sites, Sandy Stiles, the George F. Johnson Memorial Library, Jenny Gordon, Rachel Rissberger, Nikki Waskie-Laura, the School Librarian Association of the Southern Tier EAST, and the WSKG Education Advisory Committee.
ROCHESTER, NY (WXXI) – The rise of big-box bookstore chains like Barnes & Noble, Borders, and Waldenbooks battered independent bookstores in the 1990s. Indies have since been rendered an endangered species by Amazon. Most that remain, at least in the city, specialize in used books, first editions, and hard-to-find titles. CLICK HERE.
A Polish resistance fighter who sought to gather intelligence about the Auschwitz concentration camp complex by infiltrating it.
The novelist and poet Sinan Antoon, raised in Iraq and now living in New York, returned home following the 2003 U.S. occupation. That experience inspired his new work of fiction.
Nancy Bass Wyden, the Strand’s owner, is protesting New York City’s decision to preserve the bookstore as a historic city landmark. She thinks the move will hurt, not help her business.
That price tag includes all of the book megachain’s debt. Elliott’s acquisition of the largest retail bookseller in the U.S. comes less than a year after it bought Waterstones, the largest in the U.K.
Elizabeth Gilbert’s new novel is set in the New York theater community of the 1940s — an effervescent golden age for the women who congregate at the offbeat Lily Playhouse.
Using personal papers, telegrams, biographies, unpublished interviews and letters, author Brian Jay Jones gives readers a comprehensive view of the complex, multifaceted creator who became a giant.
Acclaimed author to offer her unique take on changing literary and information landscape on eve of National Library Week. PBS Books and U-M Penny Stamps Speaker Series present the livestream Thursday, April 4, at 5:10 p.m.
Tom Barbash’s new novel is set in the famed Manhattan apartment house where Lennon spent the last year of his life — and where, in this telling, he befriends a washed-up talk show host and his son.
In her new book, “Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land,” Leah Penniman describes her journey as a woman of color reclaiming space in the agricultural world while providing a comprehensive guide for others who want to follow her path.
It’s hard to remember a world before Harry Potter. But it’s been 20 years since readers in the U.S. were first introduced to the boy wizard, whose story has captivated audiences since.
Teachers! Join us as we bring the Great American Read to your classroom.
This four-part virtual professional learning series is designed for English Language Arts teachers, created FOR educators BY educators. With an emphasis on fun, engaging, accessible, and free tools for classrooms, this series will highlight techniques for engaging learners through essential communication skills, and present ideas for enhancing teaching practice through activities, projects, passion, and a connection to literature. PBS will provide a certificate of attendance for each one hour virtual professional learning event. For the Love of Lit: Inspiring Young Authors, with NaNoWriMo founder Chris Baty
October 17 @ 7-8pm ET
Designed by educators, this virtual professional learning experience will introduce a number of teaching models and strategies to enhance your practice. How can you inspire your students to be passionate writers and engaged readers?
You’re invited to a special event celebrating the hit PBS series The Great American Read! Amy Dickinson
Join us on Wednesday, October 10th for a one-hour screening of upcoming episode ‘Other Worlds’, mingle with literary-minded guests, and hear remarks from author and Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me panelist Amy Dickinson. Partner organizations including Riverow Bookshop, Tioga Arts Council, Family Reading Partnership of Owego-Apalachin, and School Librarians of the Southern Tier East. This event takes place at Ti-Ahwaga Performing Arts Center, 42 Delphine Street Owego, NY. Doors open at 6:00pm.
Join WSKG at the Sherburne Public Library on Thursday, August 23, 2018 for a special screening of The Great American read. Vote on-site for your favorite book, enjoy the library’s collections, and help yourself to refreshments. The library is located at 2 East State Street Sherburne, NY, and the event beings at 6:00pm. https://youtu.be/MRCF_qIPvnM
#GreatReadPBS
To celebrate summer’s splendor, we share our summer reading list. This is a collection of books you can sink into, spend some extra time with, pages and passages waiting to be pored over unhurriedly. These are stories and topics meant to savor.
Critic and novelist James Wood has often dinged other writers for what he calls “hysterical realism,” but his new novel “Upstate” while beautifully written — goes too far in the other direction.
The hero in “The Devil’s Half Mile” is investigating the death of his father, who may have been involved in some shady deals.
The author of The Bonfire of the Vanities and The Right Stuff used to give himself a quota of 10 triple-spaced pages per day. He also experimented with literary techniques in his nonfiction.
Caryl Phillips’ new novel, set in the waning years of the British Empire, follows the perpetually alienated Rhys from her birthplace in the West Indies to England and then the Continent.
Jamel Brinkley’s brilliant new story collection is intent on recognizing what masculinity looks like — but also questioning our expectations of it, and criticizing the ways it can be toxic.
His magical realist novel on the lives of refugees “hints at possibilities for doing better,” judges said. And it won him the prize, which recognizes fiction tackling today’s thorniest social issues.
This contest is designed to promote the advancement of children’s reading skills through hands-on, active learning. It encourages children in grades K-3 in communities across the country to celebrate the power of creating stories and illustrations by submitting their own original pieces. The contest extends the powerful tradition and annual success of the national “Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest.” In 2014, the WSKG Youth Writers Contest launched in an effort to offer older students a unique writing opportunity, too! This local contest is open to students in grades 4, 5, and 6. PBS KIDS Writers Contest (K-3) Entry Form
PBS KIDS Writers Contest K-3 Rules
WSKG Youth Writers Contest Entry Form & Rules
Submissions must be postmarked by April 30, 2018 and mailed to:
PBS Kids Writers Contest
c/o WSKG Public Media
Attn: J. Stapleton-Durham
601 Gates Road
Vestal, New York 13850
Questions ? Contact jstapleton@wskg.org
Author Tony Villecco has been researching the life and work of silent film star Pola Negri for decades. His new book is an exhaustive and entertaining look at her career in Hollywood films, both silent films, and “talkies”. His book signing is Sunday, September 17 at the Roberson Museum and Science Center
Peter Burford’s book ‘Wines of the Finger Lakes’ is a treasure trove of information about this major industry. It tells of the industry’s unlikely beginnings when an Episcopal clergyman took a charge in Hammondsport and was unable to find a source for sacramental wine. We hear about the meaning of ‘terroir’ and why the terroir of the Finger Lakes is especially welcoming to viticulture, and how the industry survived Prohibition. http://wskg.org/audio/winesmix.mp3
Photo credit: Finger Lakes Grape Program via Flickr
Therese Walsh is the author of The Moon Sisters, The Last Will of Moira Leahy, and the forthcoming Author In Progress. She’s also the co-founder of WRITER UNBOXED, a website focusing on the craft and business of writing fiction. She spoke with Crystal Sarakas about writing rituals, the relationship between writers and their readers, and who inspires her.
Photo by Rachel Burdick
Juliette Fay is the author of four novels, including the recently released novel The Tumbling Turner Sisters:
In 1919, the Turner sisters and their parents are barely scraping by. Their father is a low-paid boot-stitcher in Johnson City, New York, and the family is always one paycheck away from eviction. When their father’s hand is crushed and he can no longer work, their irrepressible mother decides that the vaudeville stage is their best—and only—chance for survival. With so much at stake, teenagers Gert, Winnie, and Kit, and recent widow Nell take to the road, and soon find a new kind of freedom in the company of performers who are as diverse as their acts. There is a seamier side to the business, however, and the young women face dangers and turns of fate they never could have anticipated.
Joshua Palmatier is the author of several fantasy novels, and the co-founder of the small press Zombies Need Brains. He’s also about to have a very busy summer, with several books being released over the next couple of weeks, and another Kickstarter happening in August to fund three new anthologies from his small press. Erenthrall is a city powered by the mystical ley lines that thread through the world. The ley is used to light the streets, heat homes, and power the transportation throughout the city and to the rest of the world beyond. Kara is a Wielder, someone who can manipulate the ley and repair the lines when necessary. Allan is a Dog, part of the brutal guard that keeps the ley under the strict control of the Baron and his Primes. Both of their lives will be forever changed when a terrorist group called the Kormanley begins to attack the ley lines in an attempt to break the Baron’s stranglehold on the ley and bring them back into their natural alignment. The first book in the series is Shattering the Ley. The second book, Threading the Needle, will be released on July 5.
The Spring Writes Literary Festival takes place April 28-May 1 at locations throughout Ithaca. More than 90 writers will present panels, workshops, readings, and more. The event is free and open to the public. Highlights from the weekend include:
Friday:
Reading and Workshop on Speculative Fiction, Poetry Open Mic, Literary Jeopardy
Saturday:
Beyond the Bechtel Test, Workshop: Comedy Writing, Reading: Jewish Noir
Sunday:
Discussion on Genre Publishing, Discussion on Developing Characters, Reading by Razi Rumi
Click here for the full schedule and festival details.
Horror writer Kevin Lucia talks about his latest works, the horror industry today, and about what scares him. (Hint – it’s not the monsters he writes about.) Lucia will read from his works Through A Mirror Darkly and Things Slip Through on Friday, October 30th at Barnes & Noble, Vestal, NY.
When Isobel turns sixteen years of age, she must choose what she’s going to do with her life. For her, that choice is to become the Devil’s own hand. Gabriel is just passing through Flood, but chooses to become Isobel’s mentor on her first journey on the road. Together, they toss a coin into the crossroads and set out to discover that the powers that are gathering are not just a threat to a green rider and her teacher, but to the entire territory the Devil rules. Laura Anne Gilman talks with Crystal Sarakas about Silver on the Road, her latest novel.
Family Reading Partnership of Owego-Apalachin is recognized as a local American Graduate Champion. This organization has created a culture of literacy that encourages and supports families as they read and learn together! Learn more from the coalition’s President, Kristin Barton, in this video. https://youtu.be/qFr9wzkpzn4
Who’s the champion in your life? Follow the American Graduate movement!
The local small press, Zombies Need Brains, was founded by author Joshua Palmatier. The small press is currently running a Kickstarter campaign to fund its next two anthologies. In this interview, Palmatier talks about the work behind running a successful campaign, and why he’s dedicated to offering unknown authors a chance to submit their work to the anthology. http://wskg.org/audio/PALMATIERFINAL.mp3