Random House’s Crown Books for Young Readers imprint has announced plans to publish an anthology of personal essays, articles, and photographs by and about students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., the site of a school shooting in February that sparked a student-led movement advocating for gun control. We Say #NeverAgain: Reporting from the School That Inspired the Nation will be edited by MSD journalism and broadcasting teachers Melissa Falkowski and Eric Garner. The book will be released on October 2, 2018.
Divided into three sections—Activism, MSD Strong, and What Comes Next—the collection will provide first-person accounts of the students’ experiences with trauma and learning to harness their voices for social activism. The book will feature contributions by MSD students, including Ryan Deitsch, David Hogg, Christy Ma, Nikhita Nikoola, Delaney Tarr, and members of the school newspaper, The Eagle Eye, and the school TV station, WMSD. Emily Easton, v-p and publisher at Crown, acquired North American rights from Rachel Horowitz at the Bent Agency and will edit. An audio edition will be released simultaneously by Listening Library.
Falkowski said in a statement, “Writing this book is empowering the journalism students at MSD to capture their experiences, both positive and negative, since the tragic events that unfolded at our school on February 14. We hope that writing these stories will inspire others to take up issues that are important to them and work toward positive change.”
Random House Children’s will make a donation to MSD in honor of the publication, and proceeds from the book will be donated by the contributors to the school’s journalism programs.
Led by author Chris Crutcher and a group of South Florida writers, MSD also recently launched a literary festival aimed at bringing the community together in the aftermath of the shooting.
