Katie Durkin (Ed.D) has been teaching middle school students for over a decade, and currently teaches 7th-grade English Language Arts at a public school in Connecticut. She has also served in a leadership role within her school, designing professional development opportunities and leading her 7th grade team. She is an adjunct professor for Fairfield University. Katie recently completed her doctoral degree at Northeastern University, focusing on the impact of classroom libraries on middle school students’ reading engagement. Her writing has appeared in NCTE’s journal, Voices from the Middle, and she is a regular contributor to MiddleWeb, sharing strategies from her classroom and reviewing professional texts. Katie is a zealous reader of middle grade and young adult books and is always looking for her next great read!