We’re kicking off a summer of reading with High Country News! My previous appeals in these pages for ways to connect with readers have — who would have guessed? — returned suggestions that involve more reading. Reading groups, book clubs, events with authors — all great ideas we may yet attempt!
No one suggested HCN launch a reading contest akin to the Xeroxed sheets local libraries hand out to encourage children to keep their noses in books over the summer — but that’s why I get to keep some credit for the idea.
The game is simple: Each square in the 4-by-4-inch card below contains a prompt. Fulfill a prompt, claim the square. Fill out a whole row or column, and you win! Like a library program, the love of reading and fun of participation is augmented by the lure of prizes. Send a photo of your card to dearfriends@hcn.org or post it on social media with the hashtag #HCNSummerReading (publicly, I need to be able to find it), and you’ll get an HCN prize pack.
Helping me with this is HCN’s new contributing editor for books, culture and commentary, Melissa Chadburn. Since Melissa will be shaping how HCN covers books — as well as being a talented writer, a Ph.D. candidate in USC’s creative writing department and releasing her own debut novel, A Tiny Upward Shove, this year — she’s the perfect partner for this endeavor. Look for the ones signed MC to follow her prompts.
Thank you also to Marissa Garcia, who designed this page and was my sounding board, and illustrator Gabriella Trujillo, who went above and beyond to make the card a beautiful reality.
You’ll note that some prompts don’t require any reading at all, and the ones that do allow for interpretation. We wanted this to fit nicely into all the reading and not-reading you’re already doing this summer — just with an HCN-y nudge.
So have at it! Let us know which prompts you liked best and the best reads to come out of it, and send in photos of your cards in exchange for bookmarks, stickers and whatever else we find. —Michael Schrantz
Download a PDF of this card at hcn.org/summer-reading
Michael Schrantz is the marketing communications manager for High Country News based in Santa Fe. Email him at michael.schrantz@hcn.org or submit a letter to the editor. See our letters to the editor policy.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Read with High Country News.
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