The 2024 Common Reader selection survey has been sent out to NEHS Chapter Advisors and is due by March 1. The short-list of eight texts has been whittled down from submissions and suggestions made by students, teachers, and Advisory Council members from around the world.
The short list consists of two memoirs, a poetry collection and a series of novels in a variety of genres including LGBTQ+ fantasy, historical fiction, friendship fiction, and disability fiction.
Short listed works were selected using the following criteria: they must have been published within the last twenty years and, generally, not form part of the traditional English curriculum canon; they must be challenging and appropriate for accomplished, motivated readers; they must expand the readers’ view of the human condition, cultures, or histories; and they must be of reasonable length and readily available in a variety of formats.
NEHS Common Reader texts can be used by chapters to study together or to use as community reads. However, the chosen text also forms the basis of the NEHS Scholarships competition: Senior students read the text and produce a critical and analytical essay in response to a series of published prompts with the aim of winning an NEHS scholarship.
The 2023 Common Reader was Qian Julie Wang’s Beautiful Country.
Results will be announced in a future edition of NEHSXpress.
More from NEHSXpress: February 28, 2023
Outstanding Chapter and Advisor Awards
Chapter Spotlight
Advisor Grants
A Round-Up of the Best (In My Opinion) Literary Podcasts
