Author Visits Offer Insight and Inspiration 

They got the chance to sit down remotely with five successful and accomplished novelists to learn all about their craft. 

Authors Jess Goodman, Zaina Arafat, Rosa Rankin-Gee, Nafkote Tamirat and Caroline Zancan were invited by upper school English Department Chair Geoff Nelson to meet with all tenth grade English classes via Zoom on different days throughout the week of November 2.

“Each author offered insight into the habits of a writer and the intricacies of their craft. Seeing our students, in the midst of creating their own fictional worlds, get to ask questions of these authors was an inspiring moment of creativity and connection,” said Nelson.

Zancan is the author of “Local Girls” and the recent release, “We Wish You Luck,” a story about love, friendship and, not so coincidentally, writers. The online visits provided an opportunity for students to delve deeper into their writing.

“It was really great to hear from a professional writer. Caroline gave great advice to help us write our stories. She inspired me to continue to read and write even outside of class,” said Hannah Schapiro ’23.

“Caroline left us with some really interesting insights about how she writes and also how she interacts with the writing of others,” said Lucia Eisenbeis ’23.

“She was able to share her passion for writing with us and inspire new and creative ideas for our stories,” added Maddy Israel ’23 also referring to Zancan.

Nelson is not surprised that students enjoyed this charismatic and talented roster. “I was thrilled that the line-up happened to represent a wide range of experiences, identities and approaches to fiction writing. They are all amazing voices.”