Reed Intermediate School students gave author Leslie Connor a warm welcome when she came to the school for a special author visit on Tuesday, December 10.

Fifth and sixth graders gathered in the library to see Connor throughout the day. Everyone sat together on the floor, intently looking up and listening to Connor as she talked about her background, creative process, and all of the different books she has written over the years. RIS Principal Matt Correia and RIS Assistant Principal Jenna Connors, along with teachers and staff, stood to the side or sat in the library’s wooden rocking chairs to listen in.

Connor is a Connecticut-based author who mostly writes books for the middle grade level, and focuses in the realistic fiction genre. She describes herself as “practice-writing” through her 30s, and that it wasn’t until her 40s when she first got published. However, Connor shared with everyone that she did not expect to be an author growing up.

Instead, she thought she would grow up to be an artist, and even studied art while in college. It was only as Connor was creating picture book manuscripts, sending them to editors, and getting feedback from them that she was encouraged to transform her picture book manuscripts into longer works of fiction.

In writing for the middle grade level, Conner felt herself connect to the younger version of herself. She said what drove her to write for that audience was a feeling it was “where her natural writer’s heart belonged.”

“I think that was probably one of the hardest times for me as a kid growing up and I think that, in a way, I grew a fondness for it in hindsight,” Connor continued.

She carries that fondness for that time of her life into her works, and pulls from the world around her to shape her stories and characters. During her presentation, Connor gave a brief summary on each of her books and the thought process and inspiration that went into creating them.

She went into detail about her most recent book, Anybody Here Seen Frenchie?, which focuses on the close-knit friendship between the loud and impulsive young girl Aurora Petrequin and the incredibly observant and nonvocal young boy Frenchie Livernois, who is also autistic. When Frenchie doesn’t show up to class one morning despite being dropped off at school together, Aurora is determined to figure out where her friend went.

Published in 2022, Anybody Here Seen Frenchie? is now a 2025 Nutmeg Book Award nominee in the “Intermediate” (grades 4-6) category. The Connecticut-based Nutmeg Book Award “encourages children in grades 2-12 to read quality literature and to choose their favorite from a list of ten nominated titles,” according to the award’s official website.

Reed Intermediate is only one of Connor’s recent stops around Connecticut. Connor said that she has recently done a lot of traveling around the state because her book was nominated for a Nutmeg Award and being a local author makes it easy for different places to make plans with her. She also shared that she travels across the country to do presentations, and will sometimes stay three-to-four days at a place if it is a long ways out and she stops at multiple schools.

RIS Library Media Specialist Sara Wasley had been the one who reached out to Connor to get her to visit the school. Reed Intermediate has had several different authors visit the school in the past, and Wasley said that she is always happy to have them stop by to talk to students.

For Connor, she is super excited to hear from students wherever she goes. She said that her favorite part about these presentations is having students ask her all sorts of questions, and to see them take ownership of their own writing.

Reed Intermediate was no different. Students in the audience had a chance ask Connor a question at the end of the presentation. Many students excitedly raised their hands, hoping that they would get to ask their own question before time ran out. Even as everyone left their session, some students went up to Connor and briefly spoke with her about books and their own creative endeavors.

“It’s just such a gift, really,” Connor said. “I feel so lucky to be able to do this work.”

Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.