Library releases fifth anthology of local youth writers

Hem Patel, Sophie Titus, Gavin Purdon, Max Denomme, August Purdy-Kremer and Eliana Williams pose in Fanfare Books with Forest of Words 2025, after reading excerpts of their short stories included in the anthology.

CONNOR LUCZKA, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

“I used to love that trail,” Max Denomme read from the back of Fanfare Books, a popular downtown independent bookstore. “Now, I can’t even look at trees without hearing them breathe. The forest was darker than usual. I always walked that trail when I couldn’t sleep. It was the only place that felt quiet. I had walked that trail plenty of times before, even at night, so I knew what to expect.

“But something felt off, like the whole place was holding its breath, waiting for something…”

Denomme, reading an excerpt from his short story “Not Supposed to be Here,” was one of the six writers that participated in the Aug. 15 public reading of Forest of Words 2025, an anthology of short stories by youth involved with the Writers in Residence program at the Stratford Public Library (SPL).

Ranging from black comedy and horror to slice-of-life coming of age stories, the anthology is the fifth edition SPL has released – and is one of the biggest yet.

According to Brooke Windsor, youth services librarian and anthology editor, the Writers in Residence program started during the “worst summer ever,” the summer of 2021. Faced with another lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, high school students needed to get creative to maintain their community service hours and keep engaged with their peers.

“I participated in a writer's club back in the dark ages of my own high school years and thought with so many new digital tools I could make it work,” Windsor told the Times. “The teen participants get ways to hone their writing and gain community service hours as they contribute to the story of Stratford in their own words. … Basically, we are growing our own local authors from the ground up with this program.”

In the first year, five writers signed up for the residency program, and it was so successful Windsor elected to run the program every year. This year, there are eight writers – Eliana Williams, Sophie Titus, Hem Patel, Gavin Purdon, Neda Unal, August Purdy-Kremer, Sena Unal and Max Denomme – all in high school.

In July, writers have a weekly hour-long meeting over Zoom. Each week they explore a different type of writing (such as horror, comedy or poetry) with prompts provided by Windsor. After 15 to 20 minutes of writing, they come back and share what they achieved. All the while, the writers are also working on other pieces that they are passionate about in the background.

In the end, the writers submit the pieces they want in the anthology, usually a mix of pieces written outside of meetings and some they created during the meetings as well. As editor, Windsor said the majority of her work comes down to piecing the anthology together at the end of the program. Files are shared amongst the writers, letting each other do peer-review, and self-editing is encouraged.

“The reaction of the program has been amazing since the beginning,” Windsor said. “The writers as a whole are thrilled to dip their toes into the world of publishing their works. Although, one of my favorite interactions was from one of our teen writers searching their name in our library catalogue and emailing me immediately that they screamed so loud in excitement their parents got scared.”

As Windsor explained, once the anthology is catalogued, each writer receives an author tag in the digital system, allowing youth to share space with the likes of Stephen King and Margaret Atwood.

“I think my favorite part of this program is taking the solitary act of writing and making it a group effort,” Windsor shared. “The writing exercises each week are a big part of this angle because, yes, they must write the prompt but then they also all have to share what they wrote … Each group of writers we have is special in their own way (even though we frequently have returning writers before they graduate), and it is the group dynamic that really makes this program special because they can work off of each other and get exposed to other ideas.

“Truly, the program is a group effort, and I couldn't be prouder of that fact.”

To read more from these authors, check out the anthology at the library. Windsor and the team at SPL encourage anyone with feedback to let the fledgeling authors know by emailing bwindsor@splibrary.ca.