Guys Read is a web-based literacy program for boys founded by author

Jon Scieszka Jon Scieszka ( :) (born September 8, 1954) is an American children's writer, best known for picture books created with the illustrator Lane Smith. He is also a nationally recognized reading advocate, and the founder of Guys Read – a web-based ...

in 2001. Its mission is "to help boys become self-motivated, lifelong readers" by bringing attention to the issue, promoting the expansion of what is called "reading" to include materials like comic books, and encouraging grown men to be literacy role models. Scieszka said, "It kind of came out of my experience both as growing up a guy, for starters, and then going into elementary school teaching, where I found that the guy sensibility isn't really appreciated there, mostly that the world of elementary school is probably like 85% women - teachers and librarians." As for how exactly to motivate boys to read, Scieszka said, "I think the best way to do it is to give them things they like to read... What we haven't done with boys is we haven't really given them a broad range of reading. In schools, what's seen as reading is so narrow: it's literary, realistic fiction." The Guys Read website includes a large list of "books that guys read", instructions as to how to start a Guys Read "field office" (or book club), a blog, and links to many boy-loved authors' websites. '' Guys Write for Guys Read'', the first book to come out of the program, is a compilation that features over eighty stories and illustrations from noted male authors and illustrators who shared stories from their own childhoods. In 2010, Scieszka started the Guys Read Library of Great Reading – collections of original short stories by male and female authors who boys enjoy reading, grouped by genre. The first volume is humor, ''Guys Read: Funny Business''; the second is mystery, ''Guys Read: Thriller''; the third is sports, ''Guys Read: The Sports Pages.'' The fourth volume in the collection is sci-fi/fantasy, titled ''Guys Read: Other Worlds.'' The fifth volume's theme is nonfiction, titled ''Guys Read: True Stories.'' A sixth volume, whose theme is horror, titled ''Guys Read: Terrifying Tales,'' was released on September 1, 2015. This was followed by another volume called ''Guys Read: Heroes and Villains,'' in April 2017.

Guys Read books

Initial Guys Read book

* ''Guys Write for Guys Read'' - Viking Press - 2005

Guys Read anthologies

* ''Guys Read: Funny Business'' - contributors:

Mac Barnett Mac Barnett is an American writer of children's books living in Oakland, California. Barnett graduated from Pomona College, where he studied under the writer David Foster Wallace.David Yoo David Yoo (born 1974) is an American fiction writer. Overview David Yoo is the author of two young adult novels. He has also contributed to several anthologies. He has published fiction and nonfiction in Massachusetts Review, Rush Hour, Maryland ...

Patrick Carman Patrick Carman (born February 27, 1966, in Salem, Oregon) is an American writer and a graduate of Willamette University. Carman's first book, '' The Dark Hills Divide'', was published in 2005 The book, and the subsequent books in the same seri ...

Christopher Paul Curtis Christopher Paul Curtis (born May 10, 1953)Judy Levin, Allison Stark Draper, ''Christopher Paul Curtis'' (The Rosen Publishing Group, 2005), , p. 84. Excerptsat Google Books. Retrieved 2015-07-25. is an American children's book author. His ...

Kate DiCamillo Katrina Elizabeth DiCamillo (born March 25, 1964) is an American children's fiction author. She has published over 25 novels, including '' Because of Winn-Dixie'', ''The Tiger Rising'', '' The Tale of Despereaux'', '' The Miraculous Journe ...

Paul Feig Paul Samuel Feig (; born September 17, 1962) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He is known for directing films starring frequent collaborator Melissa McCarthy, including '' Bridesmaids'' (2011), '' The Heat'' (2013), '' Spy'' (20 ...

, Eion Colfer,

Jack Gantos Jack Gantos (born July 2, 1951) is an American author of children's books. He is best known for the fictional characters Rotten Ralph and Joey Pigza. Rotten Ralph is a cat who stars in twenty picture books written by Gantos and illustrated by ...

Jeff Kinney Jeffrey Patrick Kinney (born February 19, 1971) is an American author and cartoonist, best known for the children's book series '' Diary of a Wimpy Kid''. He also created the child-oriented website '' Poptropica''. Early life Jeff Kinney was bo ...

David Lubar David Lubar (born March 16, 1954) is an author of numerous books for teens. He is also a video game programmer, who programmed ''Super Breakout'' for the Game Boy and ''Frogger'' for both the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Game Boy. He ...

Adam Rex Adam Michael Rex (born May 16, 1973) is an American illustrator and author of children's books from Tucson, Arizona. Career Adam Rex received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Arizona. He has contributed illustrations to ''Magic: T ...

Walden Pond Press Walden Pond Press, established in 2008, is the co-publishing venture of film production company Walden Media and book publisher HarperCollins. The venture operates as an imprint of HarperCollins Children’s Books and its logo, a skipping stone ...

- 2010 * ''Guys Read: Thriller'' - contributors:

M.T. Anderson Matthew Tobin Anderson (born November 4, 1968), is an American writer of children's books that range from picture books to young adult novels. He won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature in 2006 for '' The Pox Party'', the first ...

Gennifer Choldenko Gennifer Choldenko (born October 20, 1957) is an American writer of popular books for children and adolescents. Awards '' Al Capone Does My Shirts'' was a finalist for both the British Carnegie Medal and the American Newbery Medal The John ...

Matt de la Peña Matthew de la Peña is an American writer of children's books who specializes in novels for young adults. He won the Newbery Medal in 2016 for his book '' Last Stop on Market Street''. Biography A San Diego, California, native, Matt de la Peña r ...

Margaret Peterson Haddix Margaret Peterson Haddix (born April 9, 1964) is an American writer known best for the two children's series, ''Shadow Children'' (1998–2006) and ''The Missing'' (2008–2015). She also wrote the tenth volume in the multiple-author series '' ...

Bruce Hale William Bruce Hale (August 30, 1918 – December 30, 1980) was an American professional basketball player and coach. A 6'1" guard/forward from Medford, Oregon, Hale played college basketball at Santa Clara University, then played professional ...

, Jarrett J. Krosoczka,

Anthony Horowitz Anthony John Horowitz, (born 5 April 1955) is an English novelist and screenwriter specialising in mystery and suspense. His works for children and young adult readers include '' The Diamond Brothers'' series, the '' Alex Rider'' series, and ...

Walter Dean Myers Walter Dean Myers (born Walter Milton Myers; August 12, 1937 – July 1, 2014) was an American writer of children's books best known for young adult literature. He was born in Martinsburg, West Virginia, but was raised in Harlem. A tough childh ...

- Walden Pond Press - 2011 * ''Guys Read: The Sports Pages'' - contributors:

Gordon Korman Gordon Korman (born October 23, 1963) is a Canadian American author. Korman has written 100 children's and young adult fiction books. Korman's books have sold more than 30 million copies worldwide over a career spanning four decades and have app ...

, Chris Rylander,

Dan Gutman Dan Gutman (born October 19, 1955) is an American writer, primarily of children's fiction. His works include the ''Baseball Card Adventures'' children's book series that began with ''Honus & Me'', and the '' My Weird School'' series. Early life ...

Anne Ursu Anne Ursu is an American novelist and children's writer based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Biography She attended Brown University. Ursu's first novel, ''Spilling Clarence'', is about a drug that wafts through the air of a small Minnesota town. T ...

, Tim Green,

Joseph Bruchac Joseph Bruchac (born October 16, 1942) is an American writer and storyteller based in New York. He writes about Indigenous peoples of the Americas, with a particular focus on northeastern Native American and Anglo-American lives and folklore. He ...

Jacqueline Woodson Jacqueline Woodson (born February 12, 1963) is an American writer of books for children and adolescents. She is best known for '' Miracle's Boys'', and her Newbery Honor-winning titles '' Brown Girl Dreaming'', ''After Tupac and D Foster'', '' ...

, with illustrations by

Dan Santat Dan Santat (born 1975) is an American author and illustrator known for his children's book '' The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend'', which won the 2015 Caldecott Medal for distinguished illustration. He also wrote ''The Guild of Ge ...

- Walden Pond Press - 2012 * ''Guys Read: Other Worlds -'' contributors:

Rick Riordan Richard Russell Riordan Junior (; born June 5, 1964) is an American author, best known for writing the '' Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' series. Riordan's books have been translated into forty-two languages and sold more than thirty million c ...

Tom Angleberger Tom Angleberger is an American children's writer, best known for the ''Origami Yoda'' series. As of March 2013, more than 3.3 million copies of his books had been sold worldwide. Angleberger lives in Virginia with his wife, Cece Bell, who is als ...

D. J. MacHale Donald James MacHale (born March 11, 1955) is an American writer, director, and executive producer. He has been affiliated with shows such as ''Are You Afraid of the Dark?'', ''Flight 29 Down'' and ''Seasonal Differences''. MacHale is also the au ...

Rebecca Stead Rebecca Stead (born January 16, 1968) is an American writer of fiction for children and teens. She won the American Newbery Medal in 2010, the oldest award in children's literature, for her second novel '' When You Reach Me''. She won the Guard ...

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery fictio ...

Shaun Tan Shaun Tan (born 1973) is an Australian artist, writer and film maker. He won an Academy Award for '' The Lost Thing'', a 2011 animated film adaptation of a 2000 picture book he wrote and illustrated. Other books he has written and illustrated inc ...

Neal Shusterman Neal Shusterman (born November 12, 1962) is an American writer of young-adult fiction. He won the 2015 National Book Award for Young People's Literature for his book ''Challenger Deep'' and his novel, ''Scythe'', was a 2017 '' Michael L. Print ...

Shannon Hale Shannon may refer to: People * Shannon (given name) * Shannon (surname) * Shannon (American singer), stage name of singer Shannon Brenda Greene (born 1958) * Shannon (South Korean singer), British-South Korean singer and actress Shannon Arrum Will ...

Kenneth Oppel Kenneth Oppel (born August 31, 1967) is a Canadian children's writer. Biography Oppel was born in Port Alberni, and spent his childhood in Victoria, British Columbia and Halifax, Nova Scotia. He also lived in Newfoundland and Labrador, England, ...

, Eric S. Nylund, and illustrations by Greg Ruth - Walden Pond Press - 2013 * ''Guys Read: True Stories'' - contributors:

Jim Murphy James Francis Murphy (born 23 August 1967) is a Scottish former politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2014 to 2015 and Secretary of State for Scotland from 2008 to 2010. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for East R ...

Elizabeth Partridge Elizabeth Partridge (born September 1, 1951) is an American writer, the author of more than a dozen books from young-adult nonfiction to picture books to photography books. Her books include ''Marching for Freedom'' (2009, Viking), as well the bi ...

, Nathan Hale,

James Sturm James Sturm (born 1965) is an American cartoonist and co-founder of the Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, Vermont. Sturm is also the founder of the National Association of Comics Art Educators (NACAE), an organization committed ...

Candace Fleming Candace Groth Fleming (born May 24, 1962) is an American writer of children's books, both fiction and non-fiction. She is the author of more than twenty books for children and young adults, including the ''Los Angeles Times'' Book Prize-honored ' ...

, Douglas Florian,

Sy Montgomery Sy Montgomery (born February 7, 1958) is a German born, American naturalist, author and scriptwriter who writes for children as well as adults. She is author of 34 books, including ''The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wo ...

, Steve Sheinkin, T. Edward Nickens, Thanhha Lai - Walden Pond Press - 2014 * ''Guys Read: Terrifying Tales'' - contributors:

Adam Gidwitz Adam Gidwitz (born February 14, 1982) is the author of the best selling children's books ''A Tale Dark and Grimm'' (2010), ''In a Glass Grimmly'' (2012), and ''The Grimm Conclusion'' (2013), all published by Dutton Books for Young Readers, an im ...

R.L. Stine Robert Lawrence Stine (; born October 8, 1943), sometimes known as Jovial Bob Stine and Eric Affabee, is an American novelist, short story writer, television producer, screenwriter, and executive editor. Stine has been referred to as the "St ...

Dav Pilkey David "Dav" Murray Pilkey Jr. (; born March 4, 1966) is an American cartoonist, author, and illustrator of children's literature. He is best known as the author and illustrator of the children's book series, '' Captain Underpants'', and the chi ...

, Michael Buckley,

Claire Legrand Claire Legrand is an American writer of children's and young adult literature, including novels and short stories. She is best known for her ''New York Times'' bestselling ''Empirium'' trilogy, published by Sourcebooks Fire. Personal life Legra ...

Nikki Loftin Nikki Loftin (born April 12, 1972) is an American author of middle grade fiction. Her first book, ''The Sinister Sweetness of Splendid Academy'', was published by Razorbill/Penguin in August 2012. A second novel, ''Nightingale's Nest'', is sc ...

Adele Griffin Adele Griffin (born July 29, 1970) is an American fiction author, writing numerous novels for adults, young adults, and kids. Her novels ''Sons of Liberty'' and ''Where I Want to Be'' were both National Book Award finalists. Personal life Adele ...

, Kelly Barnhill, Lisa Brown,

Daniel Jose Older Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength ...

Rita Williams-Garcia Rita Williams-Garcia (born 1957) is an American writer of novels for children and young adults . In 2010, her young adult novel ''Jumped'' was a National Book Award finalist for Young People's Literature. She won the 2011 Newbery Honor Award, Co ...

, and illustrations by

Gris Grimly Steven Soenksen (born 1975), better known under his pen name Gris Grimly, is an American illustrator and author who mostly writes darkly whimsical children's books. Originally from Nebraska, he spent many years living and working in the Los Angel ...

- Walden Pond Press - 2015 *''Guys Read: Heroes & Villains'', contributors: Christopher Healy,

Sharon Creech Sharon Creech (born July 29, 1945) is an American writer of children's novels. She was the first American winner of the Carnegie Medal for British children's books and the first person to win both the American Newbery Medal and the British ...

Cathy Camper Cathy Camper (born in 1956, in Madison, Wisconsin) is an Arab-American artist, librarian and author of books for children and teens. She wrote ''Bugs Before Time'', illustrated by Steve Kirk, and the graphic novel series ''Lowriders in Space'', il ...

Laurie Halse Anderson Laurie Halse Anderson is an American writer, known for children's and young adult novels. She received the Margaret A. Edwards Award from the American Library Association in 2010 for her contribution to young adult literature. She was first re ...

Ingrid Law Ingrid Law (born May 1, 1970) is a ''New York Times'' bestselling author. In 2009, her children's fantasy Children's fantasy is children's literature with fantasy elements: fantasy for young readers. It may also mean fantasy read ''by'' child ...

Deborah Hopkinson Deborah Hopkinson is an American writer of children's books, primarily historical fiction, nonfiction and picture books. She was born in Lowell, Massachusetts. Selected books *''Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt'' (1993) *''Maria's Comet'' (1999) ...

Pam Muñoz Ryan Pam Muñoz Ryan is an American writer for children and young adults, particularly in the Multicultural genre. Biography Muñoz Ryan was born in Bakersfield, California. She is half Mexican with Basque, Italian, and Oklahoman cultural influences. ...

Eugene Yelchin Eugene Yelchin (born Yevgeny Arkadievich Yelchin, , born October 18, 1956) is a Russian-American artist best known as an illustrator and writer of books for children. His novel '' Breaking Stalin's Nose'' was awarded a Newbery Honor in 2012. '' ...

Lemony Snicket Lemony Snicket is the pen name of American author Daniel Handler (born February 28, 1970). Handler has published several children's books under the name, most notably ''A Series of Unfortunate Events'', which has sold over 60 million copies and s ...

- Walden Pond Press - 2017

Guys Read field offices

Guys Read field offices are reading clubs held in homes, classrooms, libraries and bookstores. They are located in 28 U.S. States, as well as Mexico, Canada, Ireland, Scotland, and Australia.Map of Guys Read Field Offices
Guys Read

References

{{Portal , Children's literature Literary societies Children's literature organizations