MFA in Writing student Hope Houston Hosts Monthly Book Club

How do some Saskatoon teens who are also fantasy buffs spend one Saturday each month? At Alice Turner Branch of Saskatoon Public Library – they’ve signed up for ‘Reading Like a Writer’, a book club designed and delivered by MFA in Writing student Hope Houston.

In August 2018 Houston moved from Washington, D.C., to Saskatoon. She did not know a soul in Saskatoon. Nevertheless, Houston wasted no time immersing in our city’s writing community. She has been a frequent volunteer at literary events in the city. She serves on the organizing committee of the MFA in Writing River Volta Reading Series, and she leads the ‘Reading Like a Writer’ book club for teens as part of Saskatoon Public Library’s programming. The book club’s participants study one fantasy novel each month and consider its craft, what Houston calls a “look at what writing strategies and choices are made.” She gives the teens writing exercises, a ‘hands-on’ approach which is popular and also why Houston calls her book club a “writing book club.”

Fantasy fiction is close to Houston’s heart; her own MFA thesis , supervised by Dr. Beverly Brenna, is a middle-grade fantasy novel, as yet untitled, about a ten-year old boy who has recently lost his mother to terminal illness. He meets a smooth-talking magic man who promises his mother is not gone – only missing. The boy (Demetrius) is then transported into a wasteland of grief and adventure.

When asked how fantasy novels that deal with tough subjects can help and inspire teen readers, Houston replied, “I think those sorts of books validate them and help them explore those kinds of topics in a way that’s not condescending or talking down to them.”

Houston chose four novels for the book club for teens:  Coraline by Neil Gaiman, A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, Howl’s Moving Castle by Dianne Wynn-Jones, and Dust by Arthur Slade. Slade was Houston’s mentor during her MFA in Writing mentorship.

Houston is impressed with the Saskatoon teens’ “level of participation, and with how well-read and eager they are to come in on a weekend and talk about writing.” When asked what the main takeaway, for her, of the book club was, she replied that the experience “ taught [her]not to underestimate what kids understand; they understand more about grieving and death and other traumatic topics than we give them credit for.”

Houston is no stranger to Saskatoon’s public library system; in early 2019, before launching her book club, she presented a workshop on fiction writing. The book club is also a form of professional development for Houston, providing teaching experience as well as experiential learning she can take back to her own thesis work. In Houston’s words, “It’s good from a research perspective, for myself. I get to see what works well in the writing we cover, what the participants find effective (or not so much) and then I can go to my own middle-grade fantasy novel and apply what they connect to.”

When asked about her experience partnering with Saskatoon Public Library, Houston remarked,

Experience of partnering with SPL has been “incredible, a very positive experience. They tell you positive feedback that’s coming in from kids and parents. They allow you to be creative with whatever sort of programming you’d like to put on – they give you freedom.”

For Hope Houston, it’s crucial to get out into the writing community and become actively engaged: “it’s important to understand where you exist in the community. It’s important to make contacts and move out of what is usually a very solitary practice. It’s inspirational, if you see other people thriving and doing what they love it makes you want to get out there and do the same.”