Author Mary Casanova Tours Libraries, Inspires Teen Writers Across Kitchigami

Mary Casanova, a Minnesota native and author of more than 40 books, spent November 3 to 15 touring the Kitchigami Regional Library System with readings and interactive discussions that highlighted craft, community writing groups and the writing life. The tour supported a new KRLS program called "Beyond The Margins" that is aimed primarily at teen writers, and included stops at Beltrami County branches where residents could attend events and participate in guided conversations about storytelling.

Casanova framed her sessions around practical craft topics and the social side of writing. She encouraged emerging writers to "bloom where you're planted" and discussed the role of local writing communities in sustaining creative practice. The sessions blended public readings with question and answer time and small group activities designed to help teens and other attendees develop ideas, receive feedback and consider the disciplined work of writing for publication and for local audiences.

Library staff described the tour as a deliberate effort to tie authorship to outreach and learning across the system. "Beyond The Margins" is positioned as a sustained initiative rather than a single appearance, with plans for a spring follow up that will include a hands on writing workshop and a book club focused on Casanova's novel "Ice Out". Those follow up offerings are intended to keep momentum in the schools and community groups that began engaging with the tour.

For Beltrami County residents the series of events brought an author into direct conversation with local teens and families, reinforcing the library system's role as a community asset. Libraries often serve as low cost venues for skill building and civic engagement, and programming that targets youth writing can have downstream effects on literacy, school readiness and workforce soft skills such as communication and persistence. For small rural communities these ripple effects matter for long term human capital development and local cultural life.

The tour also emphasized the public speaking dimension of authorship, giving local audiences a window into the professional realities of writing and publishing. By connecting a seasoned regional author with community learners, the Kitchigami Regional Library System aims to sustain a year round calendar of programs that support local creativity and keep teens engaged in constructive extracurricular activity. The spring workshop and book club will offer a concrete next step for those who attended this fall, and for others in Beltrami County who want to join the system wide conversation about storytelling and place.