Queen's Reads

Queen's Reads is designed to provide incoming first-year students with a common intellectual experience to stimulate discussion, encourage critical thinking, and promote a sense of community among students, faculty, and staff. We hope to use it as a springboard for lively, interesting, and thoughtful discussion during Orientation Week.   Incoming first year students are encouraged to opt-in online to receive a free copy of the book through the Queen’s Reads webpage.

Whether you choose to opt-in to receive a free copy of the book, or whether you already have a copy to read, all students are invited to:

  • Engage in online discussions about the book and relevant themes throughout the summer on Facebook (Queen's Student Experience Office) and Twitter (@Queens_SEO).
  • Submit a creative written piece of work for a Creative Writing Contest by Sunday, August 18, 2013 for a chance to win prizes, including a $500 tuition bursary, Campus Bookstore gift cards and lunch with Principal Daniel Woolf
  • Discuss in small groups of their peers the themes in the book as they relate to their university transition and, at the same time, meet upper-year undergraduate and graduate students, as well as faculty members, who will be facilitating the discussions during Orientation Week on Tuesday, September 3, 2013
  • Attend a public lecture delivered by the author for the Queen's and Kingston community on Saturday, September 21, 2013 from 7 to 9 pm in Grant Hall, as well as a book signing by the author on campus (select "going" on the Facebook event, so that you don't miss out!)
  • Participate in events of interest organized by the Kingston WritersFest

This program has been received positively by Queen’s Faculty.  We have 60 Queen’s professors (39 of whom are from the Faculty of Arts and Science!) signed up to facilitate discussion groups about the book.  To show our support of this initiative, the Associate Deans (Academic) and the Faculty Office (Student Services and Distance Studies) are also participating through reading the book and attending the public lecture.   

If you have any other questions about this initiative, please contact Queen’s Reads at qreads@queensu.ca or 613-533-6000 ext. 78338.