Invite to YA authors

Dear Young Adult authors,

I wanted to alert you to an initiative sprung from the mind of a wonderful professional storyteller and educator, Kevin Cordi. His StoryBox project has reached thousands of young people in the US and around the world since its creation in 1995. After the success of the Unfinished Poetry StoryBox, he is continuing the tradition with the new (Unfinished) Young Adult Stories Project.

The idea is simple: All we ask is that you send us a single unfinished story (described below). Once we have the stories from well-known writers like you, we will include them in a StoryBox, which will be sent to a teacher. The teacher will then encourage her charges to “finish” one of your stories. The StoryBox will remain for two to three weeks and then be mailed to a second teacher, and a third, and so forth. Once the StoryBox is full, teachers will create a larger decorative box to contain all the submissions. No story will be left or forgotten.

We believe this is an unusually rich opportunity

a) for young people to write their own narratives with your stories as prompts,

b) to assist teachers in helping students to release their imaginations; and

c) to provide you with a chance to give back to your

“constituents”—readers, fellow writers, and book buyers.

If you are as captivated as I am by the project, would you kindly

look through your files for a story begging to be finished

. . . by someone else!

Send your story to:

Kevin Cordi

“ Young Adult Unfinished StoryBox”

2570 Glenmawr Ave.

Columbus, Ohio 43202

We also ask that you email your story to kcteller@sbcglobal.net We asked the you mail it as well because we believe students will be delighted by seeing your signature with the story.

We will seek out a publisher for this work. By sending us a copy of an unfinsihed story, you authorize permission to use the story for this purpose and promotion. We hope to share the work to larger audiences but right now we are focusing on sending your work to eager teacher and students across the nation.

We ask you that you send your story and photo to Kevin (You can send a high resolution photo to his email at kcteller@sbcglobal.net if this is easier.) Please send by July 24.

Thank you in advance for the gift of a few brilliant lines.

Ever, Pat

J. Patrick Lewis