Posted on behalf of People and Stories/Gente y Cuentos.  If you work in a public library and are interested in the program below, please email stephaniehanzel@hotmail.com or call 609-323-7552.

People and Stories/Gente y Cuentos is a reading and discussion program offered in English or Spanish with the aim of creating access to literature. It is a program that is hard to define; it touches participants on an intellectual, spiritual and emotional level. Young adults who have had limited opportunities to experience the power of literature work in small groups led by a trained coordinator.

Public libraries with youth outreach programs or solid teen programs are best suited to inquire about People and Stories.  The targeted age range is  14- 20 years old.  While most People and Stories/Gente y Cuentos programs are offered to underserved populations, we are not limited to only serving these communities.

A People and Stories/Gente y Cuentos session involves the reading of a short story followed by a discussion, both led by a trained coordinator.  Participants have a copy of the short story and can silently follow along.  The short story discussion allows participants to enter into a conversation that draws upon their own experiences. As participants examine the poetics, issues, and values the stories explore, people often discover ways to see things differently. Young adult authors such as Chris Crutcher, Angela Johnson, Vivian Vande Velde and Lawrence Yep are among the many authors listed on our bibliography.

At the completion of the 8 weeks, participants are given a certificate and short story collection.  They also keep the binder which holds the short stories read in each session.

We are currently seeking interested public libraries with youth outreach teen programs for our upcoming National Endowment of the Humanities (NEH) grant which, if accepted would provide one of our programs for your library in 2009.  We have served libraries under the same NEH grant in 2004 and 2005.   The grant covers the cost of training and materials and a possible stipend to purchase library books.