A new teen event at the West Windsor Public Library has kids and young adult authors abuzz.
By Payal Marathe, Special to the Packet
WEST WINDSOR — A new teen event at the West Windsor Public Library has kids and young adult authors abuzz.
Debuting this summer, the Buzz Pop series allows teenagers to interact with fiction writers in a low-pressure setting and discuss books, music, television or any other topic that comes to mind, said reference librarian Carolyn Aversano, who came up with the idea and organized the event.
The second of four Buzz Pops scheduled for this season took place on Friday afternoon, with eight kids and four authors in attendance. Writers included E.C. Myers, Kit Grindstaff, Alissa Grosso and Evan Roskos, who have all published young adult novels in the past few years.
The group sat in a circle and talked for nearly two hours nonstop, passing around a bag of gummy bears and not wanting to leave until the library closed.
Ms. Aversano said the biggest sign of the event’s success is when the teenagers overcome their hesitation and speak freely with the adults in the room, asking questions but also sometimes leading the discussion by sharing their own ideas.
”The best thing for me is that if you didn’t see them it would sound like a peer conversation because there’s no age in the room,” she said. “It’s important for these kids to know they can approach an author and talk to them about anything.”
The authors said they found the teenagers’ candor and enthusiasm impressive.
Ms. Grosso said Buzz Pop is unlike anything she has participated in before.
She called the event a “new, novel format” since it is creates a rare opportunity for teenagers to not only talk to published authors about the writing process, but to share their opinions on everything from Stephenie Meyer, to Tumblr, to Pixar’s animated sequels.
Ms. Grindstaff said she was pleasantly surprised by how there was hardly a lull in the conversation.
”Libraries are usually quiet places and I feared that kids might be here because their parents made them come, but it was truly a lively and engaging discussion,” she said.
In fact, Ms. Aversano said she was careful in making sure Buzz Pop appeals to teenagers and not just their parents.
She said parents often ask her to plan summer book groups for their children, but she realizes teenagers do not want to spend their vacation participating in something so academic.
Instead, she began reaching out to young adult authors about her design for Buzz Pop — an informal discussion series for kids to talk “off-the-cuff” about whatever interests them. Once the idea came to her, it quickly “snowballed out of nowhere” because many authors loved the concept and even volunteered to bring friends, Ms. Aversano said.
”Getting such a strong author response this time was pretty amazing, and I appreciate all of these authors giving their time to a program that hasn’t been tested,” she said.Fridays’ conversation certainly explored unexpected topics, and Ms. Aversano had to do little prompting to get the teenagers to speak up.
Everyone in the circle started by saying their name and the title of their least favorite book. But even before the introductions were finished some kids were sidetracked by their passionate disapproval of the Twilight series.
Though Ms. Grindstaff said she does not understand “being in love with someone ice cold to the touch,” one young participant pointed out that at least Bella Swan does not need air conditioning in the summer.
The authors explained the long process of writing, editing and publishing a novel. Mr. Roskos said a writer is never perfectly satisfied with his or her work, adding that even when he is reading from his book aloud he sometimes changes words “on the fly.”The teenagers and authors alike were interested in discussing the popularity of the Harry Potter series. J.K. Rowling’s success really helped because it made publishers more inclined to consider a debut author in the young adult genre, Mr. Myers said.
Even when time was up for Buzz Pop the kids pushed into overtime, wanting to discuss fan fiction, how to find an agent, and the history of Coca-Cola and Pepsi.
Given the excitement from both teenagers and young adult authors surrounding the event, Ms. Aversano said she expects to continue the Buzz Pop series next summer and to see greater turnouts as kids spread the word to their friends.
The West Windsor library will host two more Buzz Pop discussions this summer on Aug. 2 and Aug. 16.