Author Mima Tipper to visit Ecker Hill Middle School for student Q&A and writing workshop

Author Mima Tipper, whose debut young adult novel Kat's Greek Summer explores identity and self-discovery, will visit Ecker Hill Middle School on Friday. Photo: Mima Tipper

PARK CITY, Utah — Author Mima Tipper will visit Ecker Hill Middle School on Friday for a day of student programming centered on reading and writing, bringing her debut young adult novel, Kat’s Greek Summer, to Park City as part of a broader Utah tour.

Tipper will lead question-and-answer sessions during both lunch periods in the library and a writers workshop during Advisory, according to Lara Rude, the school’s library media specialist. Rude said the author is also visiting several schools in Salt Lake City during her trip.

Published in May 2025 by SparkPress, Kat’s Greek Summer follows 14-year-old Kat Baker, whose plans for a breakout freshman year on the cross-country team are upended when her family heads to Greece for the summer. Set in a rustic seaside village, the novel traces Kat’s efforts to hold onto her ambitions as she navigates family expectations, cultural tensions, and first love.

In press materials, Tipper said the novel was inspired in part by her own experience growing up Greek American and spending summers in Greece with her mother’s family. While the book is fiction, she said many of the emotions in the story reflect what surfaced as she explored her own heritage through writing.

Tipper earned her MFA in writing for children and young adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her fiction has appeared in Hunger Mountain and Sucker Literary Magazine. Press materials note her involvement in library and literacy efforts in her Vermont community.

The novel has been described as a coming-of-age story about family, identity, and finding your voice.

The visit will give Ecker Hill students a chance to hear from a working author and engage in the creative process, with conversation in the library followed by a hands-on writing session.