By JEN BOUTIN

BCPL

Summer Reading is in full swing at the library. The theme for this summer is “A Universe of Stories” and many of the activities and events are space-themed or are related in some way to outer space. In addition to the regularly held monthly programs and the numerous special summer events for youth and families, the library will offer a special sci-fi writing workshop this summer for adults and teens ages 16 and up.

The four-part workshop, called Universe of Stories: Writing Workshop, will start 2-4 p.m. today (Saturday, June 8). Led by local author Paul Stansbury, participants will learn how to write a speculative fiction short story and prepare a manuscript for submission. The self-publishing process will also be covered.

The dates of the following three workshops are June 22 and 20, and July 13.

Stansbury has led other writing workshops at the library.

“Following the success of the Memories Worth Remembering Workshop last fall, I was excited when the library asked me to host the Universe of Stories: Writing Workshop,” says Stansbury. “Speculative or science fiction aims to explore our world as it would be altered by posing the question ‘what if?’”

He says the most appealing and freeing aspect of this type of fiction is “like the world it creates,  it is not bound by the traditional norms of story writing. In fact it is not bound by anything. It is free to adventure anywhere it likes as long as anywhere is a creation of imagination and speculation. Anyone, whether a novice or a published writer will enjoy this workshop and come out of it with a rewarding experience.”

During the workshop, Stansbury will walk the writers through the writing process for publication. At the end of the workshop series, the written stories will be published in a collection of short stories that will be added to the library’s collection.

Virtual Field Trips

Traveling into outer space has fascinated our country for more than half a century. While interstellar travel and putting colonies on the moon are still in the realm of science fiction, using technology to explore our own solar system and beyond is a reality.

To bring outer space closer to home, this summer the library will host four virtual field trips. This four-part series will give behind-the-scenes tours of two space facilities and the International Space Station, hosted by experts who work and —  in the case of the space station — live there.

A virtual field trip of Apollo 11 will give people a chance to explore the original spacecraft through a virtual rendering.

The virtual offerings include the following trips, all scheduled at 2 p.m. on their individual dates: International Space Station, June 14; Lockheed Martin Space Facility, June 28; Apollo 11, July 12; and Johnson Space Center, July 26.

More information about these and other upcoming events can be found at www.BoylePubLib.org or by calling the Library at (859) 238-7323.