Lakeside School

On Jan. 29, author Nic Stone visited Lakeside to deliver the Mark J. Bebie ’70 Memorial Lecture. Stone spoke to Upper School students and adults at a daytime assembly, followed by an evening lecture in St. Nicholas Hall, structured as a conversation with Head of School Kai Bynum. During the school day, Stone also met with Upper School students, many from the fiction writing elective, to discuss the craft. 

Visiting the Middle School, Stone spoke with students about holding onto their sense of wonder, staying optimistic, embracing their unique qualities, and leading with empathy and kindness. The Middle School students engaged her in a lengthy Q&A covering everything from her writing process and inspirations to how she styles her hair and whether cereal is a soup. 

Nic Stone, a native of Atlanta and a graduate of Spelman College, is a New York Times bestselling author of young adult and middle-grade fiction. Her books have been nominated or selected for more than 30 awards and have been translated into a half-dozen languages.

At the Upper School assembly, Stone introduced herself boldly: “I tell lies for a living.” She went on to elaborate on her childhood as both an avid reader and creative liar, inventing false but harmless fantasies such as convincing an aunt that she had triplet classmates named April, May, and June. “For no reason at all,” Stone explained. “Just to see if she would believe me.” 

“What I want you to take from me is the idea that story is everything,” Stone told students. With occasional input from her engaged audience, Stone delineated the common stories that shape our lives, such as the standard narratives about education that motivate students. “There’s nothing wrong with that story, but I want you all to recognize that’s what it is.” 

Stone’s relaxed humor earned a fair amount of audience participation, some chuckles, and even a few shrieks of laughter from the assembled students. 

She shared the story of her own journey to becoming a working author, the motivation she derived from not seeing Black characters getting to be the heroes of their own stories, notable moments in her experiences with the publishing industry, and thoughts on the stories we believe about ourselves and the world around us. 

“If you don’t control the narrative, the narrative will control you,” she said. “You cannot change how other people think and act, but you're in full control of you. If nothing else in the world ever changes, what type of person are you going to be?”

During a Q&A with students, Stone answered questions from the audience on being the author of a frequently-banned book, confirmation bias and learning from the experiences of people different from oneself, the publishing industry, productivity habits, literacy, the justice system, the power of communication skills for non-professional writers, and empathy. 

Stone delivered the Mark J. Bebie ’70 Memorial Lecture, an annual lecture inviting speakers on topics related to the environment, technology, education, and other subjects that were of interest to Bebie.