Game On!

Authors, Fans Face Off in Innovative Experiment

Sharon Verbeten

Authors have total recall of everything in their books, right? Or would an avid fan kick their butt in a trivia match? This ingenious concept—conceived in the early days of the pandemic by three-time National Book Award finalist Steve Sheinkin and Stacey Rattner, librarian at Castleton Elementary School in upstate New York—was only supposed to be a temporary virtual offering.

“A lot of people were trying to think of ways to help teachers,” said Sheinkin, whose book Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown received a 2022 Sibert Honor.

“I thought we’d just do one and see how it goes,” he added. “By the end of [2020], I thought that was it.”

But hosts Sheinkin and Rattner have now recorded more than seventy episodes—found on YouTube—featuring middle-grade authors like Jason Reynolds and Kate DiCamillo squaring off with mega fans.

When Sheinkin wondered how he could reach out during the pandemic, he thought, “The one asset I have is these authors.”

Sheinkin and Rattner write the questions—“That was the most time-consuming part of it,” he admitted. And the authors and fans have not been hard to find.

“We’ve been making this up as we go along,” Sheinkin admitted.

The ten-minute segments feature the humbled authors, casual in their homes, adorable kids and zany sound effects, and—spoiler alert!—you never know which authors will stumble on facts they’ve written.

Sheinkin himself got in on the fun. Watch episode #57 to see him take on an eighth-grade superfan of his book Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon.

Rattner said, “It’s so great to give this opportunity to the kids—like it is a once in a lifetime and unforgettable experience for them. Here they are with their favorite author, basically alone (with Steve and I looking on) for fifteen minutes. How awesome is that?

“And on top of that, they know the book better! There are episodes where the author has been so humbled by the experience and so kind to the fans, that I get emotional.

“The kids are so great. One fan wrote to me saying it was ‘one of the best experiences I’ve ever had.’” &