The Alabama Writers’ Forum
The Alabama Writers’ Forum, a partnership program of the Alabama State Council on the Arts, works to cultivate our state’s literary culture. We do that through supporting writers at all stages. We encourage our young writers to find their creative voice through the Father Goose Poetry Festival for Kids!–and through our Alabama High School Literary Arts Awards. We support the work of our state’s literary community through our Alabama Authors Directory, First Draft magazine, and other programming and opportunities for writers across the state. And we celebrate our state’s rich literary legacy through the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame. We are, above all, a community of writers united by our desire to advance the literary arts in Alabama. If that describes you — join us! There are many ways to get involved.
Werewolf Hamlet
Werewolf Hamlet By Kerry Madden-Lunsford Charlesbridge Moves, 2025 Hardcover: $18.99 Genre: Children’s Middle Grade Books, Review by Emma C. Fox Angus Gettlefinger has a problem—his big brother Liam might be a werewolf. What other explanation could there be for Liam’s increasing scruffiness, meanness, and sneaky nocturnal escapes from their Los Angeles home? But Angus also has a brilliant plan. He and Liam share something in common: a passion for Golden Age Hollywood films and Shakespearean insults. And Angus’s fifth-grade “legacy project” is coming due. If he can stage an original dramatic production that pulls all these threads together—a Werewolf Hamlet—maybe Liam will get the message and return to reality. Both poignant and funny, Kerry Madden-Lunsford’s Werewolf Hamlet is a fast-paced, off-beat ode to the bonds of family and friendship—and classic Hollywood films. Short narrative chapters are interspersed with “Conversations with Liam in the Night” and quick dives into “The Brain of Angus Jack Gettlefinger”: Angus’s imagined pep-talks with his Old Hollywood heroes Harry Houdini, Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Lon Chaney. The Los Angeles setting asserts itself [...]
