June 25, 2020

Lecture Video: “Hold Fast” by Marshall Highet & Bird Stasz Jones

The authors will discuss the process of writing collaboratively, doing historical research, and transforming a paragraph from an 1886 family chronicle into an adventure story for young readers.

by Marshall Highet & Bird Stasz Jones

February 20, 2020

Hold Fast is a young adult, historical novel in the vein of Kidnapped. Based on a true story, it combines brutal storytelling and a poignant sense of humor. It follows the lives of two Italian boys pressed into service on the HMS Deptford in 1762 while on a family-trading voyage with their uncle. The story chronicles their lives on board as well as the discovery of longitude and the relentless shelling of Fort Morro during the Battle of Havana. In the end, the main character develops deep New England roots and a connection to Bristol.

The authors will discuss the process of writing collaboratively, doing historical research, and transforming a paragraph from an 1886 family chronicle into an adventure story for young readers.

Marshall Highet is a professor and writer. Her YA sci-fi novel Spare Parts was published in 2014. Spare Parts also has an educational bent and Marshall has worked in tandem with middle school, high school, and college educators to create a syllabus that pairs with the book. She lives in Pittsburgh with her family and two rescue dogs.

Bird Jones is a faculty Emerita from Elon University. She has written extensively for academic journals as well as publishing an oral history of a small town in Maine. Her teaching and scholarship has taken her to far-flung parts of the world. She is an avid sailor and spends as much time as possible with her husband on their boat in Newport.