Met With a Leadership Team for Saugatuck StoryFest Yesterday and Am Beyond Excited (But Will Take a Necessary Weekend Away)

This is the 2nd year for the Saugatuck StoryFest, sponsored by the Westport Public Library in collaboration with local schools, sponsors, Universities, and writing groups. There are 60 writers coming this year and the line up is amazing. The Keynote (drumroll, please) ...R.L. Stine...Goosebumps fame.

I've been thrilled to sponsor the educator panels and to offer transportation for so many young people reading the work of these authors at many of the schools I work with. I also can't wait to bring my 'ride and die,' Dr. Kelly Chandler-Olcott to the event, to be on a special panel on inclusivity and teaching writing to diverse populations. It is a culmination of her brilliance, expertise, mentorship, and influence. There are so many coming to souther Connecticut.

Check everyone out here: https://www.ssfteenboard.com/author-gallery

This morning, however, I'm driving to Syracuse in order to make it for dinner and a weekend to celebrate the life of Joni Banks, my mother's cousin and a woman I knew as my Aunt. I loved her, learned from her, and absorbed all the magic she provided me throughout my life.

I will be heading northwest, listening to two of the writers who will be coming to the Saugatuck event: Tiffany Jackson and Ibi Zoboi. I can't wait to hear their latest work.

I finished packing up my temporary office in Donnarumma Ding Dong, stuffing materials into the already packed CWP closet and my renovated, but not ready, office in Canisius.

This will be a solemn, but rejuvenating weekend. I am looking forward to the reunion of family, many who I have not met and others that I cherish, but haven't seen in decades.

I hold my Ripley name at the core of who I am. This is a Ripley weekend and I hope to soak every second of it in.

When I return, it will be full Saugatuck StoryFest ahead.