Each Spring, Youngstown State University hosts the annual English Festival. Around 3,000 students from Mahoning, Trumbull, and Columbiana counties in Ohio, Mercer, and Lawrence counties in Pennsylvania, make the trip yearly. The Festival began in 1978 and has been a celebration of reading and writing since. This year grades 10-12 attended on April 9, 2025 and grades 7-9 attended on April 10, 2025 and April 11, 2025.
Prior to the Festival, students pick a track A-X. This includes the opening, five sessions, lunch, and award ceremony for competitive events. The sessions are a variety of events including an essay contest, poetry, writing games, and song writing. Here are the book lists for both 7-9 and 10-12:
Bestselling author Alan Gratz was this year’s Thomas and Carol Gay Memorial Lecturer. He is the author of the English Festival books Refugee and The Brooklyn Nine which students 7-12 read. Most of his young adult novels are historical fiction and he talked about his most popular works, such as Ground Zero, Two Degrees, Allies, and of course Refugee. The story of Refugee follows three separate plot lines with three characters fleeing their homes for safety. Each plot line is unique based on time period and place, but Gratz adds in parallels between the characters to show how refugees aren’t that different from each other. During his speech, a fan asked him why he writes so many historical pieces. He answered, “It is important to keep talking about these events so we don’t make the same mistakes in the future. For refugees, we had a refugee crisis one hundred years ago and we still have one today, just because no one is willing to help.”
Senior Joslyn Delsignore’s favorite session was the Story to Song Seminar led by songwriters who wrote songs about this year’s books. They showed their songwriting process, then groups wrote their own verses. The sessions offered a behind the scenes look to a standard songwriting process. “I felt that it was unique and very engaging. I got to make friends from other schools which was also fun,” Joslyn said.
Senior Makenna Beeson has attended the English Festival for four years. This year her favorite book was The Grace Year written by Kim Liggett. Kenna said, “It had a similar setting to The Hunger Games which I really enjoyed.” Her favorite session was Literature into Art where participants looked at and interpreted student submissions for the art contests. “It was interesting to hear so many perspectives and thoughts about the same piece of art,” Kenna added.
Eliza Primous, a sophomore, attended the Festival for the fourth year. “There is a wide variety of books to read and I enjoy talking to people about them.”
“My favorite session was the writing games because you were able to be creative with different characters from the books,” Junior Cheyanne Bott said.
Senior Alana Lopez has been attending the Festival since seventh grade. This year her favorite book was Refugee because of the different perspectives and historical fictional aspects. Her favorite session was also Writing Games.
It was Junior Reeve Donatelli’s fifth year attending. He said his favorite book was Every Falling Star by Sungju Lee and Susan McClelland because “It talks about the dark parts of our world and the sacrifices individuals have to make. It was also based on a true story.” His favorite sessions were Connections which were based off of the New York Times game. “It was an opportunity to win prizes and compete against other groups,” he said.
For some 7-9 graders, it wasn’t their first time attending. This was eighth grader Jakob Primous’ second year going to the Festival. He said Free Water written by Amina Luqman-Dawson was his favorite book. He said, “It was suspenseful with a lot of turning points.” Jakob especially liked the Connections sessions and being able to meet authors.
This was eighth grader Malena Sturm’s second year attending as well. “I’m going again because I like meeting new people and this year’s book line up was interesting,” she said. She was particularly moved by Louder Than Hunger by John Schu calling it a book with “deep meaning.”
This was seventh grader Olivia Medvec’s first time taking part in the Festival. “It was really fun and engaging. I heard from my friends that it was exciting so I thought I would try it out,” she said. Her favorite book was also Louder Than Hunger, “I liked how the book represented mental health battles.” Her favorite session was Story to Song.
Seventh grader Frankie Loftus was also a first time attendee. “I was interested in the festival because I like to read and I have heard good things about it,” he said. He also found Louder Than Hunger to be his favorite book. Frankie said, “My favorite part was being able to meet authors.”
Mrs. DeLuca also attends the English Festival with students. “The English Festival is a great opportunity for students who love to read and write to meet and connect with students from other schools. It is a chance for them to be creative and listen to the authors of the books they read speak to them about the writing process. It’s a fun field trip. Some students have attended since 7th grade and have made new friends over the years.”
