By Victoria Galan, Miami-Dade Public Library System

The Miami-Dade Public Library System is thrilled to announce that Ms. Kekla Magoon has been selected to serve as its Young Adult Writer-in-Residence. Ms. Magoon was selected from nearly 20 applications from around the country.

“We are so excited to welcome Ms. Magoon to beautiful South Florida,” stated Library Director Raymond Santiago. “As an award-winning young adult author with such an interesting and diverse background, we know that the teens in our community are in for something very special!”

Ms. Magoon is the author of four young adult novels and is the recipient of the American Library Association’s Coretta Scott King- John Steptoe Award for New Talent.  She currently teaches writing in New York City, conducts school and library visits nationwide, and serves on the board of VIDA: Women in Literary Arts. Ms. Magoon holds a B.A. in History from Northwestern University and an M.F.A. in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She has always loved books and wrote her first novel when she was in high school.

The Young Adult Writer-in-Residence Program is made possible by the Knight Foundation a Knight Arts Challenge Grant and was designed to provide young adults, who have an interest in creative writing, the opportunity to work alongside a published, young adult author during a three month residency. The program will center on teens and will help to inspire them to express themselves through their writing. The resident author will mentor 20 teens in the creative writing process and will provide critiques and tips on how to improve their work. The resident author will also conduct workshops on the different components of writing, both as a creative outlet and as a possible career path.

The program runs September – November 2012.