Addison Trail and Willowbrook host ‘Author in the House’ event

On April 11, District 88 hosted Simone Elkeles, an award-winning Young Adult author, as part of the district’s Author in the House program. That program focuses on bringing authors into the schools to speak with students and staff members to promote reading.

“District 88 has been inviting authors to come in and speak periodically for several years now,” said Rose Janusz, Library Media Center Director for District 88. “The Author in the House program has been running in its current format for four years.”

When selecting potential authors, Janusz said, Library Media Center staff look for individuals who truly speak to teenagers and focus on works that reflect an understanding of issues faced by teens today and incorporate characters who are changed for the better.

“We invited Elkeles as a result of a student request,” Janusz said. “Given the popularity of this year’s event, I have already received numerous requests from students and staff for future authors.”

Elkeles primarily writes romance novels geared toward teens. Her work has been described as “edgy,” and her characters are complicated individuals who deal with issues of race, poverty, gangs, family dynamics and social isolation.

“Her books are very popular!” Janusz said. “We can’t keep them on our shelves, and we are often replacing worn-out copies.

More than 500 Addison Trail and Willowbrook students participated in the Author in the House event, which included a small-group-experience writer’s workshop and a presentation on character and story development.

“I hope through this program, students leave with excitement for reading and the belief that with hard work and determination, their futures are limitless,” Janusz said. “Elkeles was a natural fit for the Author in the House program, and I’m thrilled with the outcome.”

For more information about Elkeles, go to http://simoneelkeles.com.