BYU's Royal Blue team collaborated with EveryLibrary to host a panel of Utah authors.
The authors each shared stories of personal growth and success.
The Royal Blue team extended various panel invitations to authors throughout Utah, Kennedi Kersavage, a member of the Royal Blue team, said.
“Thankfully, we had three awesome authors that were interested and were willing to participate and share their thoughts with us," she said.
Charlie Bird, author of "Without the Mask" and "Expanding the Borders of Zion: A Latter-day Saint Perspective on LGBTQ Inclusion," was one of the panelists.
"My biggest takeaway from today is that there's so much power in proximity," Bird said. "When we get closer to the stories of other people, and see them and see ourselves in them, it brings communities together."
James Dashner, author of "The Maze Runner" series, and Richard Paul Evans, author of the "Michael Vey" series, also participated in the panel.
"Eventually my dream came true. I became a full-time writer," Dasher said.
Attendees asked questions about the authors’ personal journeys, including how they overcame past trials to reach where they are today.
"They reach(ed) out and asked if I'd be willing to come down and speak, and I thought, 'This is something I've never had the chance to really talk about,'" Evans said.
To learn more about the Royal Blue team’s progress and collaboration with EveryLibrary, visit their Instagram account @freedomtoread_.