Youth Summer Series
Book lovers, storytellers and adventure seekers – this chapter is just for you. Spend your summer participating in the Youth Summer Series with exciting challenges, creative programs and can’t-miss author talks. Make this summer one for the books!
Funding for the Youth Summer Series is generously donated by The Friends of the Mississauga Library.
Read and Roam: Book Challenge
Read, discover and win! If you are a Mississauga resident age 12 to 24, visit a Mississauga Library location between June 30 and August 30 to pick up your Read and Roam booklet, which includes a bingo card and book tracker.
Bingo card
Complete activities and reading prompts to earn badges and ballots for a chance to win exciting prizes throughout the summer. If you need help finding book suggestions for reading prompts, use booklists Read & Roam Book Challenge (Categories 1-6) and Read & Roam Book Challenge (Categories 7-12) on our catalogue.
Ballots
- Earn one ballot per completed row (horizontal, vertical, and diagonal)
- Complete the full bingo card to earn three extra ballots
- All ballots are submitted for our July and August prize draws. Learn more.
Badges
Earn special reading badges by completing prompts in the same colour:
- Literary Critic – Yellow
- Genre Devourer – Green
- Community Engager – Pink
- Book Ditcher – Blue
Book tracker
Track your physical and digital summer reading by creating a book list in our catalogue using #MLSummerReading2025.
Visit mississaugalibrary.ca/catalogue. Go to “My Library”, then “My Collections”, then “List, Guides, and Recommendations”, and finally, “General Recommendations”. In your annotations, use #ditched for books you didn’t finish and #devoured for books you’ve completed.
Story Slam: Writing Contest
Introducing an exciting new opportunity for young Mississauga writers, whether you are a seasoned storyteller or writing for the first time.
Explore your connection to the natural world – its wonders, its challenges and its uncertain future in the face of climate change – by submitting a short story for this year’s writing contest theme, What the Earth Tells Us: Between Sky and Soil. Capture how the Earth speaks to you by sharing a tale set in your neighbourhood or a world entirely imagined.
- Written by a City of Mississauga resident age 12 to 24
- Original work and written without the use of AI tools
- Must be unpublished (not shared online or in print)
- Maximum word count of 1,500 words (no minimum)
- One submission per person. Late or incomplete entries will not be considered.
- Email your short story as a PDF attachment to library.programs@mississauga.ca
- Format the email subject line as follows: Story Slam – [Age Category: 12–18 or 19–24] – Last Name, First Name
- In the body of your email, include your full name, age and contact information. If you are under 18, include the contact information of a parent or guardian.
- Contest opens: Monday, July 14, 2025, at 9:00 a.m.
- Contest closes: Monday, August 11, 2025, at 9:00 p.m.
PDF formatting guidelines
- Font: Times New Roman
- Font size: 12 point
- Spacing: Double spaced
- Margins: 1 inch on all sides
- Page numbers: On the bottom right-hand corner
- In the header of your document, include: Title of your story, your full name, age
- File name: Format as follows: StorySlam2025_AgeCategory_LastNameFirstName
- Visit any Mississauga Library to browse our collection of writing guides
- Get feedback from peers at one of our Writing Clubs
- Explore our curated booklist on nature and climate storytelling
- Drop in and find a quiet corner to write – your story starts here
Stories will be judged in two age categories: 12 to 18 and 19 to 24, with first, second, and third place awarded in each. Submissions will be evaluated based on creativity and originality, connection to the theme, clarity and structure, and emotional impact and storytelling voice.
- All submissions will be considered for feature in the City’s Climate Change Action Plan, launching fall 2025
- First place winners (in each age category: 12 to 18 and 19 to 24) will be invited to showcase their story at the second annual Mississauga Literary Festival on September 13
- First, second and third place winners will receive recognition and prizes from the Mississauga Library. Learn more.
Books and Crafts
A little crafting, a little chatting, and a whole lot of book talk! Join us for a laid-back creative session where we’ll dive into hands-on art projects and swap stories about books.
Crafts will rotate across locations throughout the summer and include:
- Calligraphy
- Jewelry Making
- Air-Dry Clay Creations
- Embroidery
- Linocut Printing
- Bedazzled Notebooks
Visit activemississauga.ca to view locations and crafts.
Craft offerings may vary by location and are subject to change based on supply availability.
Author Talks & Workshop
Join June Hur and Jackie Khalilieh on Tuesday, August 12 from 6:00 to 7:30 PM at Hazel McCallion Central Library for Author Talks and a workshop on “How to Write Immersive Tales and Authentic Characters”.
Whether your story takes place in the distant past or the present day, great characters are what keep readers turning pages. This workshop will explore how to create characters that feel real, relatable and authentic.
About the authors:
- June Hur (허주은) is a New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award-winning author of young adult Korean historicals, including The Silence of Bones, The Forest of Stolen Girls, The Red Palace, and A Crane Among Wolves. Born in South Korea, June spent her formative years in the USA, Canada, and South Korea before studying History and Literature at the University of Toronto and working at the city’s public library.
- Jackie Khalilieh is a Palestinian Canadian author who believes that young adult readers should have the option and freedom to read about evergreen issues facing teens in an authentic, positive way. Like many autistic women, she received her diagnosis as an adult. Something More, her debut young adult novel, was shortlisted for the Ruth & Sylvia Schwartz Award, as well as the Snow Willow Award and the Amy Mathers Teen Book Award, and was selected for several Best Books of 2023 lists, including the New York Public Library and Audible Canada among others. She resides just outside Toronto, Canada, with her husband, two daughters, and Samoyed, Pearl.