Berks native A.S. King wins second Printz Award for latest YA book

Jan. 28—Lititz author A.S. King, a Berks County native, has been awarded the 2024 Michael L. Printz Award for "The Collectors: Stories," an anthology of stories about remarkable people and their strange and surprising collections. King is the first author to ever win the award twice.

King previously won in 2020 for her novel "Dig." The Printz is widely considered the highest honor for young adult literature. Previous recipients include John Green, Jandy Nelson, Elizabeth Acevedo and Gene Luen Yang. "The Collectors: Stories" is also the first ever anthology to win the Printz award.

Hailed by The New York Times as "one of the best YA writers working today," King is the author of over a dozen books for young readers, including "Ask the Passengers," "Attack of the Black Rectangles" and "Please Ignore Vera Dietz." She is renowned for her extraordinary surrealist stories, a style that is unmatched in the young adult literature space.

Inspired to invite her fellow writers to forgo traditional storytelling conventions, in "The Collectors: Stories," King has dared nine elite YA authors to write something as wonderfully weird as her own imaginative work. The book contains short stories by M.T. Anderson, e.E. Charlton-Trujillo, David Levithan, Cory McCarthy, Anna-Marie McLemore, G. Neri, Jason Reynolds, Randy Ribay and Jenny Torres Sanchez, plus one by King herself.

"This anthology of stories is the result of me asking nine of my favorite YA writers to write me a story about a collection and its collector, and asking them to toss out conventions, as there were no rules, there was no 'normal,' and they could be as weird as they wanted," writes King in the introduction. "There is currency in weirdness, I said. Be defiantly creative, I said. What they've created here is a new, beautiful collection of curiosity and hurting and growing up and healing and love and living."

Theater

Reading Civic Theatre's 14th annual "Celebration of the Arts" scholarship competition featuring vocalists from Berks County high schools will take place Saturday, Feb. 10, from 6 to 11 p.m. at the group's theater in Exeter.

The 12 finalists are Alison Applegate, Abigail Breidenbach, John ( Jack ) Burrell, Ryan Claudfelter, Faith Constein, Megan Guntzler, Aurora Kishbaugh, Emily Leiboff, Sofia Arana Lyon, Riley Spannuth, Sophia Touti and Edwin Vargas.

The group also announced that on Saturday, March 30, comedian Earl David Reed returns to the RCT stage. Tickets for February and March events can be purchased at readingcivic.org.

Auditions for the June production of "Wizard of Oz" will be held in March; auditions for the September production of "Mean Girls" will take place in late March or early April. Also coming up later in the year are "South Pacific" and "Oliver."

Check readingcivic.org to keep up to date for audition dates, performance dates and other pertinent information.

----Steel River Playhouse, Pottstown, has announced that Leena Devlin will retire from her role as managing artistic director, effective June 30.

Devlin has dedicated her creative vision to Steel River for 17 years in various capacities, serving the past 10 years as the overall manager. She plans to remain involved with fundraising and the Playhouse's ongoing growth as a member of its board of directors, effective immediately upon her retirement.

Devlin has devoted countless hours to the organization since joining the team in 2007 before Steel River moved to High Street. In 2014 she stepped into a leadership position following the exit of Steel River Playhouse's founders Marta Kiesling and Deborah Stimson-Snow. Devlin has managed the organization through challenges including the impact of the COVID pandemic on the venue and its programs.

She is especially proud of her role as creator and owner of The Refinery Workshop at Steel River Playhouse, a project she originated in 2019. The Refinery sought submission of full-length, non-musical, unpublished and previously unperformed plays. The competitive program resulted in over 700 submissions of new works. Ultimately, six of them were selected for workshops with a dramaturg, public readings and, for the finalist, a full production in Steel River's 2019-2020 season.

"For years, Leena has been the artistic — and operational — heart of Steel River Playhouse," said Scott Bentley, co-president of Steel River's board of directors. "Working more than full-time on a part-time salary, she has collaborated with Steel River's staff, performers, patrons and donors to bring people together to enjoy productions on High Street. We largely credit Leena with building our stellar reputation as a place where everyone enjoys working, performing, or being engaged and entertained."

"It will be very difficult to fill Leena's shoes," said Cathy Skitko, co-president of the Board. "Leena is passionate about generating Steel River performances that are innovative, thought-provoking, beautifully re-imagined, and, simply stated, highly entertaining. She is equally focused on providing performance arts training to area youths, regardless of their backgrounds and family income levels.

"Importantly, Leena also understands the invaluable role Steel River plays in downtown Pottstown and in our community's revitalization," Skitko added. "She consistently emphasizes professionalism in all aspects of the theater and in attracting theatergoers and students from the greater region."

When not overseeing day-to-day operations of the theater, Devlin directed several Steel River productions including "I and You," "Fun Home" and currently "The Cake," which opens on Feb. 9. She also has graced the stage as an actress, most recently in 2023 as the Witch in "Into the Woods."

Steel River Playhouse will soon launch a search for a new executive director. This position will be posted on Indeed.com as well as in various arts and theater-related publications.