In the school library I manage, I’m always trying to get students engaged in reading. I’m also very interested in trying out new technologies and tools. When another librarian told me about Authorfy, I was hooked almost immediately. Authorfy provides a series of masterclasses starring authors who discuss their novels and the topics surrounding them. They talk about the inspiration behind it, how they developed their characters, read extracts and a lot more. One of my favourite aspects of the program are the writing challenges. I recently used the 13 Storey Treehouse videos to get 11-year-old students, who are typically very reluctant to engage in reading, engrossed in the provided reading challenge and, even better, borrowing the books in the series. You can read more about that particular library lesson here. Authorfy also provides reading extracts and resources to download packed full of great activities around each book. In the past I have used Authorfy as a powerful tool to debunk myths that exist here in the UK about the refugee crisis. I recently used the videos on Empathy Day to discuss Onjali Q. Rauf’s amazing The Boy At the Back of the Class. When we were finished learning about the book and about refugees and what they endure on a daily basis, I had the students conduct research on Syria, the country where the Ahmet, a character from the novel, was from. We learned a lot about the country and debunked a lot of myths about the refugee crisis in general. It gets students talking and interested in books that they might not have been aware of previously. With a growing archive of videos, there are tons of ways to get students to interact with a large variety of novels. For those of us on a limited budget or who are in a location where authors don’t travel to consistently, Authorfy is a really brilliant way to bring authors into the library or classroom.
