Minnesota-based Author Visits Horizon Middle School
April 5, 2023
What could be more inspiring for budding young readers and writers than to work with a published author? On March 20th, author William Durbin interacted with Moorhead Area Public School students. His visit included mentoring, writing exercises and answering their questions.
William Durbin is a Minnesota-based historical fiction author. He has written many stories including The Hidden Room, Wintering, and The Blackwater Blade. Durbin spends his time researching and studying historical events and turning them into works of fiction for young adults.
After reading Durbin's book The Broken Blade, Horizon Middle School 6th graders were fortunate to welcome back Mr. Durbin to our school after several years away due to COVID-19 protocols.
Durbin was able to speak to the entire 6th-grade class about his life as an author and his storytelling process. Students got to spend part of their time with the author learning about historical fiction as well as what it takes to write a story. He went into detail about the process giving these students insight into a general novel setup.
His visit was filled with small writing groups where students were able to practice writing first sentences of a story and ask questions about the writing process. In the afternoon the entire 6th grade was able to hear Mr. Durbin talk about his research process and the various stories he has written over the years.
“It was awesome to see so many students asking Mr. Durbin great questions and learning more about Minnesota history in the process,” said Dan Dooher, Horizon Middle School media specialist.
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