8-YEAR-OLD WRITER SNUCK HIS OWN BOOK ONTO THE SHELF IN A LIBRARY - NOW RACKING UP A WAITLIST WITH OVER 100 PEOPLE
Aspiring writers may have to wait years before their work appears on bookstore shelves and in front of prospective customers. However, one young author chose to forego all traditional publication processes and sent his work directly from his pen to the local public library's stacks. Since he was five years old, eight-year-old Dillon Helbig has been writing and drawing his own stories, and he has long wished to see one of his works displayed on the library's shelves. He therefore felt compelled to share his most recent story, The Adventures of Dillon Helbig's Crismis, as soon as he finished it. Furthermore, he was fully aware of how.
In his own manner, Dillon chose to "self-publish" his book. So he slipped in the lone copy of his 81-page story while visiting the Ada Community Library's Lake Hazel branch in Boise, Idaho, with his grandma. In just a few days, he had handwritten and illustrated it in a red-bound notebook that his grandmother had given him. Its pages describe the experiences that follow Dillon's journey via a portal to many places in time and space, such as the North Pole and the first Thanksgiving, after the star on top of his Christmas tree explodes.
When probed about his grand scheme, he informed a local news agency, "I always be sneaky, like how I obtain chocolate." I had to slink past a number of librarians, so you know what I did?…I merely snuck it in by covering this area and the rear with my body. After avoiding the librarians, Dillon placed his book on one of the fiction shelves, in between two other library volumes.
The cunning novelist even put the title of the book and the author, "Dillon His Self," on official-looking labels that were placed on the crimson cover and spine of the volume. These were helpful when, a day or two later, when the enterprising young author revealed his perfect undercover operation, Dillon's mother called the public library to ask for the book. "His parents were concerned that we would discover his book and discard it," said Alex Hartman, branch manager at the Lake Hazel Library. "Which was a baseless fear because this is the only place a book would ever be secure."
The book was actually discovered in the "tales" section by Hartman and his colleagues, who read it and even shared it with Hartman's 6-year-old son. They also agreed that Dillon's book satisfied all the requirements for a book that the library might add to its collection, and they were far from wishing to discard it. They therefore processed the book, assigned it a barcode, and formally added it to their shelves as a part of the graphic-novels area with Dillon's and his parents' consent. Dillon's amazing children's book, which she self-published, is now available for anybody to read.
Given the amount of attention the book has received, they hope that more young children may be encouraged to take their hand at storytelling by Dillon's inventiveness. Cristianne Lane, a local children's author, has even offered to teach Dillon a writing course at the public library. Hartman stated, "We just hope that kids get inspired to write their own stories and share them with others." "I simply believe it's an excellent example to show other children."
The library even gave Dillon its very first Whoodini Award for Best Young Novelist, which is named after the library's owl mascot. And rightfully so, as The Adventures of Dillon Helbig's Crismis has received so much praise since its discovery that, as of the end of January, 56 people were waiting to check it out at the library. Furthermore, the last individual on the list would have to wait nearly four and a half years to obtain the lone copy if each borrower kept the book for the whole four-week loan period. There are now 120 people on the queue. Hartman has been discussing with Dillon's parents the possibility of producing a digital version so that more people can view it.
Dillon has even more ambitious goals now that he has achieved this early success. According to his mother, he is already planning his career and has made the decision to become a novelist when he grows up. "When I'm forty, I'm going to stop writing," Dillon declares, adding that he'll most likely start making video games instead. However, the young writer has already started work on a follow-up to his first children's book that he self-published. This time, the Grinch will make a surprise appearance together with his dog, Rusty. Additionally, he is working on a book titled The Jacket-Eating Closet, which he claims will be a story based on "real events." So, stay tuned to see what this creative young author has in store.