Toni Hopper
DUNCAN — On Saturday, an estimated 85 authors and publishers will gather for the first Chisholm Trail Book Festival at the Simmons Center. There will be top authors like Dusty Richards, new authors like Ron Churchman, a former Comanche resident and new authors from area eighth-grade schools.
Founder of the festival, Tonya Shook, said the main goal is to bring authors together so readers can connect with them. Yet, there’s a secondary aim that could have a bigger impact on the future of books.
Shook said getting youth involved has been extremely important and was a way to give them a foundation on which to begin as young writers. Keeping with the Chisholm Trail theme, the concept for the eighth-graders was to write a “diary entry” as their essay, based on a character. They could choose to be a trail boss, wrangler, cook or any cowboy central to life on the range.
“While rewriting these essays, I was excited to see the story line that many of these young writers took off on, even to using dialog,” Shook said.
“They no doubt might become our writers of tomorrow.”
Many youth even entered artwork along with their essays. A committee was formed at the start of this project, she noted.
After the essays were submitted, Shook spent an entire weekend revising and preparing them for a book. She said the book features 61 “young authors from Stephens County.”
“For them to have a memory to last their lifetimes,” Shook said. “This book was their starting place for being published.”
There are winning entries, but Shook said the book will not indicate which ones are the winners, as to give all the youth equal ground on which to build their writing future.
“It is a real fun book to read,” she said. The book, “The Chisholm Trail Book Festival Anthology” is already available online and there will be some copies available at the book festival Saturday. If all the copies sell Saturday, orders can be placed.
“These young writers will also be published authors amid all those professional, published authors at the book festival,” Shook said.
In addition to the festival, authors Vivian Zabel and Jacque Graham will visit Duncan Middle School Friday, Shook said.
Zabel will talk with the youth about the importance of reading and writing and also give them some tips on how they can make it more interesting. Graham will come dressed as Belle Cobb, a character in her book that is due out in 2010. Shook said Cobb was the first Indian woman doctor in Indian Territory.
The 61 eighth-graders with essays in the book are:
Sam Allen, Kaelyn Allensworth, Jesse Anderson, Vianca Andrade, Erica Arriaga, Marli Barney, Alan Beck, Dakota Bilbrey, John Campbell, Jessica Carney, Lyndsie Carroll, Dakota Copass, Kaitlin Copeland, Cody Crow, Colby Crowson, Colt Elam, Cody Evans, Jaz Gayanich, Seth Gonzalez, Blake Graham, Trey Gutherie, Sydney Hendricks, Baylee Henry, Kaley Hepburn, Averie Hicks, Cooper Hill, Dominique Holalde, Hannah Hollars, Rebecca Humphreys, Chelsie Jones, Taber Kaspereit, Sarah LaMar, Jordan Layn, Sidney Lewis, Matthew McCalister, Justin McCall, Keeley McCollum, Noah McDonald, Sam Moffatt, Hudson Moore, Samantha Moore, Josh Newton, Matthew Patrick, Lydia Raney, Sarah Reed, Samantha Remy, Kayla Robinson, Teddi Southerland, Conner Sullivan, Patrick Sullivan, Kelcey Tadlock, Jonathon Taylor, Kalli Thomas, Kelly Thomas-Cutshaw, Nic Tinney, Andre Vuong, Kayla Willett, Kaila Williams, Blake Dalton Wood, Dylan Wright and Melaina Yearby.
Awards will be announced at 4 p.m. Saturday at the book festival.
