Children’s Author to Hold Reading, Visit Area Schools

Renowned children’s author John Coy will conduct programs in area schools and give a public reading through Write On, Door County’s writers’ residency program. Coy will provide insight into the creative process during his appearances at Gibraltar Area Schools, Sunrise Elementary and T.J. Walker Middle School in Sturgeon Bay, and Washington Island Schools. In addition, Coy will give a public reading Nov. 10, 6 pm, at Crossroads at Big Creek in Sturgeon Bay. The event is free and open to the public. Books will be available for sale and the author is happy to sign copies.

School visits have taken Coy to all 50 states and numerous countries. He works extensively with educators and students to tackle many young boys’ disillusionment with reading. Several of his works are geared toward providing captivating subject matter to those who may have otherwise abandoned books.

His titles include Game Changer, a picture book about the first integrated basketball game in the United States; Crackback, about a high school football player; and the middle grade nonfiction book For Extreme-Sports Crazy Boys Only. He has received numerous awards for his work including best debut picture book, Best Book of the Year, Notable Book for a Global Society, and an award for Distinguished Achievement in Children’s Literature.

About his fiction for middle school-age readers, Coy said, “I wrote the 4 for 4 series of middle-grade novels thinking about the reader I was at that age. I wanted to write about four friends who are nuts about sports and the challenges they face on and off the field. The series spans the time from the spring of their fifth-grade year, through the summer, and then into middle school. Each book focuses on a different sport: baseball, soccer, football, and basketball.”

Write On’s Executive Director, Jerod Santek, said, “We are thrilled to be able to bring a writer of John Coy’s stature to our area schools and to be able to present a free program with him open to the public. The Friday night event is a great one for families, and for anyone who wants to encourage young people to be more engaged with reading. John is such a likeable guy and such a good writer, I think that many adults are going to fall in love with his books as well.”

For more information visit writeondoorcounty.org.