Note: we strongly recommend using a trained facilitator via our Reading & Discussion program for community discussions centered around Last Night at the Telegraph Club and its themes.
Vermont Humanities pays the discussion facilitator a $275 stipend for each session. The facilitator leads each event, beginning with a 10-15 minute presentation on the text, followed by a participatory discussion. Each session lasts about 90 minutes.
New this year!
We are offering each Vermont Reads host organization one free discussion of Last Night at the Telegraph Club, led by one of our trained facilitators. Email us at community@vermonthumanities.org for more details.
Discussion and Book Club Guide
Penguin Random House has created a Discussion and Book Club Guide for Last Night at the Telegraph Club, which can be downloaded as a PDF.
Download the Discussion and Book Club Guide (PDF)
The guide was written by Erica Gillingham, a queer poet, writer, and bookseller with a Ph.D. in lesbian love stories in young adult literature and graphic novels. Her thesis included a chapter dedicated to Malinda Lo’s fantasy and science fiction novels.
Ideas for a Dynamic Discussion
- Use a facilitator, preferably someone who loves literature, has experience leading discussions, and has taken the time to read and research the book carefully. They should be prepared with a list of stimulating questions and should try to include everyone in the conversation. See the list of Reading and Discussion facilitators at the bottom of the page.
- For in-person meetings, it is best to seat people in a circle. If the group is too large for this configuration, ask people to speak loudly and clearly so that everyone can hear, or, as appropriate, ask them to stand and face the group when talking. If your discussion needs to happen virtually, break-out rooms are helpful for large numbers.
- Don’t forget the introductions! Be creative — in addition to stating their names, people might briefly share their general impressions of the book, their reason for attending, or something about the book for discussion.
- Discussion facilitators should end the discussion with some kind of “closer.” One example is asking everyone (or, if the group is large, volunteers) to share a final thought about the book or the experience they just had discussing it. Or ask volunteers to read their favorite sentence or paragraph from the book.
- Please plan to have space available after the group in case any one present would like to ask more questions one-on-one or get additional resources about anything that came up in the conversation. Some participants may need one-on-one time after the group discussion.
- If the discussion is in person, please serve refreshments!
