The Ball State Writer-in-Residence program is thrilled to host Christina Diaz Gonzalez, award-winning author of middle grade and young adult fiction, in Muncie the week of November 3-8 to read, write, learn, and talk with students in our community schools and after-school programs, and engage with community members around books and storytelling.
Free public events on Ball State’s campus will include Ms. Gonzalez’s Monday evening talk on writing for young people and a Thursday afternoon fiction reading followed by an on-stage interview with Ball State alum—and New York Times bestselling memoirist—Ashley C. Ford.
Hundreds of students in Muncie schools received copies of Gonzalez’s books and will be studying and discussing her books, including: “Invisible” (a graphic novel featuring five Spanish-speaking kids doing community service Breakfast Club style—and trying to survive middle school!), “Concealed” (a page-turning mystery for middle-grade readers that’s “techy, twisty, and smart”), and “The Red Umbrella” (a riveting historical novel based on Operation Pedro Pan when over 14,000 Cuban children were sent to the United States without their parents).
Please visit the Ball State Writer-in-Residence site for a complete calendar of events, plus bonus material including Ms. Gonzalez’s welcome video to Muncie students, an inspiring look at the inaugural 2023 program with Alicia D. Williams, and curated materials for teaching and writing.
Monday, November 3
“Writing for Young People” with Christina Diaz Gonzalez, 7:30 p.m. Pittenger Student Center Ballroom, Ball State University.* Free and open to all. Refreshments served. No tickets required. Ms. Gonzalez will be available to sign books after each event. After 7 p.m., free parking is available in most campus lots and garages.
*A pre-event literary fair will begin at 7 p.m. Come early and browse!
The residency is sponsored by the Creative Writing Program in the Department of English and made possible by the Efroymson Family Fund, the College of Sciences and Humanities, and the Office of the President with generous support from Burris Laboratory School, the Department of Women’s, Gender, and African American Studies, and the Office of Community Engagement at Ball State University.
For more information, please contact the WIR program coordinator, Professor Jill Christman (jcchristman@bsu.edu).