Author coming to Central

On Oct. 2, sophomore honors English classes and IB students at Central will receive a special visit from award-winning author Neal Shusterman. 

Shusterman will be talking about how he became an author and the writing process in general. “I think our students are able to connect to that, whether they can imagine themselves someday writing a novel… or writing themes,” librarian Beth Eilers said. There will also be open time for questions. 

Neal Shusterman is an accomplished writer, winning the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature in 2015 for his book “Challenger Deep” and the Golden Kite Award for Fiction in 2016 for the same book.  

“I’m not a person who swoons over anybody,” Eilers said. “[But] Neil Shusterman’s writing makes me swoon.” 

Eilers recommends that one of his books be added to the sophomore reading list. “He just has a marvelous way of pulling you through the book,” she said. “The quality of writing is just great.” 

Previously, author visits had been put on a hiatus, with other authors that have visited Central in the past including Rainbow Rowell, the author of “Fangirl” and “Eleanor & Park,” both popular youth fiction books. 

“We got to the point where we didn’t feel like it was well enough attended for all the planning that went into having authors come,” Eilers said. “This is going to be a totally different experience than that.” 

Shusterman’s visit opens a door of possibilities for Central in regards to future author visits in upcoming years, Eilers says. “We’ll see how this goes… If it goes great, maybe it’s a new tradition we’re going to start with the English Department.” 

Each student will be given a book of their choice written by Shusterman, which they will read for class including either “Dry” or “Scythe.” Whatever their choice may be, the students will be able to keep the book as their own. The overall event is paid for by the library’s budget, and the books will be provided by the AP/IB funds.