NEW: Graphic Short Story Contest Winners Announced!

Garfield County Libraries are excited to announce the winners of the Graphic Short Story Contest! We had a total of 63 entries in three age divisions. All of the stories and artwork demonstrated a lot of talent and hard work - and they were fun to read! Click on the titles below to see the winning entries.

Elementary School Division (up to age 9):
"The Dog in the Future" by Hadley Yellico of Glenwood Springs

Middle School Division (ages 10 to 13):
"Carbondalien" by Henry Nadell of Carbondale

High School and Up Division (ages 14 and above):
"The Intruders" by Kristina McGuire of New Castle

We also want to recognize three Honorable Mention entries who made the final decision very difficult:

Middle School Division:
"The Magical Potato Who Can Play Soccer" by Emily Fisher of Carbondale
"Aniwars: The Bone Wars" by Elise Hillbrand of Glenwood Springs and Silt

High School+ Division:
"The Tale of Two Racers" by Eli Bontrager of Carbondale

Thank you to everyone who participated!

Click to jump to:
Event Guide ... Author Visits ... Graphic Short Story Contest ... The Big Read to Me Day ... Partners

The Garfield County Public Library District is one of 267 organizations participating in the Big Read between September 2009 and June 2010. The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts designed to restore literary reading to the center of American culture. The program provides citizens with the opportunity to read and discuss a single book within their communities.

The 2010 Big Read in Garfield County featured Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Fahrenheit 451 is now available in book, video, and audio formats at all six Garfield County libraries. Each branch also features the book in Spanish and Tim Hamilton's authorized graphic novel adaptation. Search our catalog now!

Our partners in the Big Read

The Big Read brings together partners across the country to encourage reading for pleasure and enlightenment. Garfield County Libraries are pleased to partner with local organizations such as Alpine Bank, City of Glenwood Springs, Garfield County School Districts RE-1, RE-2, and RE-16, Glenwood Springs Center for the Arts, Glenwood Springs Post Independent, LaQuinta of Rifle, and Thunder River Theatre Company to bring you some fabulous programming as part of the Big Read.

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Author Visits with Tim Hamilton

 Garfield County Libraries presented an evening with Tim Hamilton on Thursday, February 4, at 7:00 p.m. at the Glenwood Springs Community Center. Tim spoke about his authorized adaptation of Fahrenheit 451 which has been described as "a graphic novel that even those who don't read graphic novels will love...bold, bright, and almost too hot to handle" (Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal). The evening also included the opening of "The Everyman Project" and Kathy Honea's Altered Book exhibit.

Tim Hamilton also spoke to students at Roaring Fork, Coal Ridge, Rifle, and Grand Valley High Schools on February 4-5. Tim talked about being a graphic artist and took questions from the audience. Tim lives in Brooklyn and has produced art for The New York Times Book Review, Mad magazine, DC Comics, Dark Horse Comics, and Nickelodeon magazine, among others. He most recently adapted Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island into a graphic novel for Puffin Graphics. It was exciting to have Tim in Garfield County to share his artwork and stories!

Selected art by Tim Hamilton from RAY BRADBURY'S FAHRENHEIT 451: THE AUTHORIZED ADAPTATION by Tim Hamilton. Art work copyright (c)2009 by Z File, Inc. Used by permission of Hill and Wang, a division of Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux, LLC.

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Graphic Short Story Contest

To celebrate the success of Tim Hamilton's graphic novel adaptation of Fahrenheit 451, and in conjunction with the Big Read, Garfield County Libraries present a graphic short story contest. What's a graphic short story? Think comic strip, graphic novel, or manga. Enter today to win a $50 Visa gift card and have your story posted on the library district's website! Entries must follow the theme of "a story set in the future" and all art and storylines must be original. There's no minimum length and stories may be up to 10 pages in length or 1,000 words.

The contest has three age divisions:

• elementary school;
• middle school; and
• high school and above.

Individuals or groups can participate. The oldest member of a group determines the age division entered and only one prize per entry. All entries must be submitted to one of the six branch libraries by February 26 at 5:00 p.m. 

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The Big Read to Me Day

This year we partnered with the Garfield County Department of Human Services Childcare Program and the Roaring Fork Valley Early Learning Fund's Raising A Reader program to present "The Big Read to Me Day" on Wednesday, February 24. During this special event, volunteers from the community read to children in licensed childcare homes and centers from New Castle to Parachute. Volunteers were invited to appear in the "uniforms" of their careers and share their love of reading. This event emphasized the crucial role that many adults in the community play in giving children the foundation needed to succeed in school and beyond. It also reinforced the goal of the Big Read by bringing the program to the youngest members of our community.

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For more information on the Big Read please stop by your local library or contact Emily Hisel, Outreach Coordinator, at 970-625-4270. The NEA presents the Big Read in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in cooperation with Arts Midwest. Support for the Big Read is provided by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

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