A St. Lazare-based teenager is offering a summer writing course following the success of her self-published debut novel, Carnival Lights.

Laura Guilbault (pictured right) is a 16-year-old Westwood Senior High School student who is hoping to help young writers develop their skills, make new friends and learn more about the writing and publishing process.

Students will learn the basics of literary devices, story structure and brainstorming techniques as well as the importance of characters, editing tools and how to write a good ending. Each session will tackle two of these story elements. Students will be expected to create their own short stories with Laura’s guidance.

Guilbault recently won the subject award in her Enriched English Course, as well as the Maureen Kirk Conway Award for creative writing. Carnival Lights was published at the end of January and tells the story of young Grace, who runs away from home and finds herself at a peculiar carnival. The book is available on Amazon and at the Librairie Clio in Pointe-Claire.

The course will take place at Laura’s home in St. Lazare beginning the second week of July and will take place once a week for six weeks. It is open to kids aged 10-15 and registration costs $100. To register for the course, you can contact Laura at lauragbookworm@gmail.com