A Celtic Night: Shakespeare's Midsummer Nights Dream Comes to Life in Modern Version

Shaker Heights, Ohio — The works of Shakespeare are often challenging for teens, so one teen has created a modern version of a Midsummer Nights Dream that is expected to help teachers introduce the classic tale.

A Celtic Night (ISBN 1-932802-94-0) has a March 28, 2006 publication date. It is 160 pages and priced at $5.95 by publisher Fresh Writers Books (http://www.freshwritersbooks.com) and distributed by Independent Publishers Group.

Author Bridget O'Dwyer, 17, is an active high school senior at Shaker Height High School. Her father emigrated from Ireland, and when O'Dwyer was 15 she went to Ireland to spend six months with relatives she had never met.

She entered the 2005 Fresh Writers book proposal contest, and won the coveted prize of a book publishing contract. Her proposal was judged alongside entries from 15 other students in northeast Ohio.

"Bridget decided to combine her love of Shakespeare and Ireland. She noticed that many Shakespeare plays have been given a modern treatment. For example, West Side Story is based loosely on Romeo and Juliet," explained publisher Bill Jelen. "No one has done a modern retelling of A Midsummer Night's Dream, so Bridget's proposed a story about a 15-year-old Irish-American girl who travels to Ireland and encounters Irish fairies in the woods with her schoolmates one night."

O'Dwyer said she hopes that this book will make the Shakespeare tale more easily understandable to teens.

Charles Kelly, an English teacher and drama advisor at Shaker Heights High School, praised O'Dwyer as a strong creative writer and thinker. Jelen said he selected her proposal based on her strong activity record and writing sample.

"Bridget is adventurous. Not many 15-year-olds leave home to spend a semester abroad. She has also shown creativity, taking the Fresh Writers program to areas not contemplated by us. She approached the administration at Shaker Height High School and is getting high school credit for putting together and executing her own author tour from Cleveland to Buffalo to Syracuse," said Jelen.

The book is appropriate for the teen audience. It will be popular with teen girls in middle school and high school. Middle school English teachers will find it helpful to use A Celtic Night to introduce their students to A Midsummer Nights Dream.

Press Contact:
Bill Jelen
330-715-2875
consult@MrExcel.com