Now that I’ve finalized my decisions, I can announce that I’m the judge for the Teen section of the 2015 Joy of the Pen, a statewide literary competition. I will be at the Topsham Public Library this Saturday afternoon, handing out prizes. The Teen portion is a new piece of the competition, so all you English teachers and school librarians whom I dearly love, this is for you: Joy of the Pen is an awesome chance for your young writers to stretch their wings a little, so pretty please keep an eye out for the deadlines for next year and encourage your fledgling authors to send in their work!

If you’ve got some spare time this weekend, come on by the TPL to listen to this year’s winners read their work and give them a massive round of applause!