Zinta Aistars

Many of us talk about the exotic places we'd like to visit - someday. But we usually just stay on the couch, dreaming. We get bogged down in daily routines and obligations. That was never enough for KC Weaver, a Grand Rapids native and history professor who just can't sit still. Weaver calls himself "The Gypsy Professor" and writes a blog about his adventures, and misadventures. He's visited 69 countries in 14 years and he’s just getting started.

Colby Sharp is a nerd and proud of it. In his new book for kids 8 to 12, The Creativity Project: An Awesometastic Story Collection (Little, Brown, 2018), the fifth grade teacher in Parma, Michigan, combines the creativity of many authors and artists to prompt young writers to discover just how creative they can be.

Betsy Bird knows what tickles a young girl’s funny bone. She’s the editor of Funny Girl: Funniest Stories Ever (Viking Books for Young Readers, 2017). Bird decided to create the collection of 25 humorous stories when she couldn’t find any anthologies of funny stories for girls by women authors.

Inspiration for literature comes from many places, but perhaps most often it comes from nature. The Kalamazoo Nature Center is partnering with Friends of Poetry, a nonprofit organization in Kalamazoo, to encourage “Baby Boomers” who are age 50 and up to get outside for a walk and be inspired to write. The Nature Poetry Walk will happen at 11 a.m., March 27, at the Kalamazoo Nature Center.

CommuniTEEN is all about getting teens in the Portage Public Schools to read a book together, meet the author, and build a connection between the classroom and the world of literature. The wider community is also invited to read the book and hear from its author.