“ We met with him and discussed how we could hold a cosplay club at the library,” Melton added.“ Cosplay club is designed to be a place where teens can come dressed in cosplay, work on their cosplays and talk about all things cosplay.”
Melton was also inspired to lead the library’ s cosplay club by her own daughter, Savannah Stevens, a 17-year-old avid cosplayer who is also a teen entrepreneur with her own business, Bea’ s Creations, where she makes and sells anime-themed items.
“ Savannah attends cosplay club and she has been an avid cosplayer since she could walk,” Melton said.“ She is a cosplay vendor at LITCON every year and her dream is to be a professional cosplayer. I have learned what I know about cosplaying through her.
“ I mainly help Savannah with her costumes when she has an idea that she needs help realizing,” Melton continued.“ I am a big fan of upcycling and finding things that can be used to create costumes rather than just going and buying a premade costume. Thrift store shopping is always a fun way to find costume ideas.”
Stevens’ past costumes at library events have included Izuku Midoriya from popular Japanese manga / anime series“ My Hero Academia” at the 2023 LITCON and a mermaid( complete with her own diorama-style“ environment” made from a blue tent and an inflatable pool while she waved silk scarves as“ waves”) at the 2025 Fantasy Faire.
For now, the library’ s teen cosplay club has been about general interest in the hobby and the kids learn by bouncing ideas off of each other, but Melton and her fellow library staff are hopeful that the group program will grow into what it can offer.
“ Attendance has been averaging around 15-20 teens, but we are hoping to grow as the word gets out about it,” Melton said.“ I am hoping that as we grow, cosplay club can start having guest speakers sometimes, like a professional cosplayer who can come talk to them about the profession or do a specific activity like painting masks that can be used for a character.”
The teen cosplay club meets at W. Walworth Harrison Public Library at 1 Lou Finney Blvd. in Greenville the first and third Saturday of every month from 1 p. m. to 3 p. m. and is open to ages 13 through 17.
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