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The Library Book: Fiction-writing prompts inspired 
by the true story of the 
LA Library fire.

The Library Book

About

The worst library fire in the U.S. happened in 1986 in downtown Los Angeles. Was it arson? An accident? How had the library become a vulnerable target? Susan Orlean's nonfiction retelling, "The Library Book," is full of memorable characters who spent a century building the library before the fire, and the heros that saved 80% of the books. This fiction-prompt program draws 40 phrases directly from "The Library Book." But like a library, it all depends on where the words are shelved. Spin the dial-a-genre wheel (https://wheelofnames.com/q5h-kbf) to find out if you'll be writing a bit of history, a mystery, or an action thriller. Like Orlean's book, this program has a bit of everything.

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© 2026 All Rights Reserved. Copyright on all participant writing belongs to its original author.

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