Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Trotwood-Madison High School Students Debut Anthology at Dayton Book Expo

Media Release

Contact: Valerie J Lewis Coleman

937.307.0760

For Immediate Release

April 13, 2011

Abandon Doubt. Commemorate Character. Honor Self.

A Kingdom Waiting: Loss, Triumph and the Young Spirit

Dayton, Ohio - April 13, 2011 -  On Saturday, April 30, 2011, forty students from Trotwood-Madison High School will debut the anthology A Kingdom Waiting: Loss, Triumph and the Young Spirit at the second annual Dayton Book Expo. The event will be held from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM in the Great Hall at Sinclair Community College's Ponitz Conference Center, 444 West Third Street, Dayton, Ohio 45402. Along with A Kingdom Waiting, several debut titles will be celebrated with cake, balloons and author presentations at noon. The family-friendly event is free and open to the public.

Valerie J. Lewis Coleman, Passionate Pens founder and anthology publisher says, "FBI statistics rank Dayton twentieth in the nation for crimes. The students in this book are proof that not all of our young people are involved in gangs or dropping out of school." Coleman, a bestselling author and Trotwood alumnae, is an expert on relationships and self-publishing. "My sons graduated from Trotwood and I believe in the school system. Giving a voice to youth by publishing this book is my way of honoring my alma mater."

In the words of a student contributor...

Renika Williams, a senior at Trotwood-Madison and contributor says, "My experience writing for the anthology was like none other! I've always enjoyed writing, but I had never written about myself because I was afraid that something I was ashamed of would surface." Renika will be attending Wright State University to pursue a degree in acting and communications/broadcasting. "When I wrote my story - You and Me - I realized that I had nothing to fear. They were just my flaws; everyone has them. I got teary as I wrote because I had been holding in the loss of 'myself' for years. Afterwards, I felt relieved and now I express myself through writing more than ever before."

In the words of Trotwood City Schools faculty and administration...

Sarah Acton, English Department Chair, Creative Writing teacher and anthology compiler says, "I have been privileged to have students share their thoughts and experiences with me. I have always known them to be intelligent and gifted; however, reading these stories reinforced their talent and articulation." The book project was sponsored by the school and Principal Terry Logan. The Dayton Book Expo is sponsoring the booth and awarding a crystal plaque to the top-selling student.

Gerald Cox, Director of Human Resources for Trotwood City Schools, says, "The anthology reflects what can happen when talented people collaborate: a local author, a caring teacher and motivated students. The infusion of writing and other creative arts across the public-school curriculum is critical to the development of our young people. As more classroom teachers and other professionals continue to invest in our students, the ripples will reach generations of children."

About A Kingdom Waiting: Loss, Triumph and the Young Spirit

Abandon doubt. Commemorate character. Honor self.

"There is nothing like youth. The middle-aged are mortgaged to life. The old are in life's lumber room. But youth is the lord of life. Youth has a kingdom waiting for it."

~ Oscar Wilde

In A Kingdom Waiting: Loss, Triumph and the Young Spirit, you'll explore life from a high-school student's perspective including

  • Coping with grief
  • Forgiving betrayal
  • Moving past heart break
  • Transforming depression
  • Overcoming low self-esteem
  • Shedding fear
  • Realizing possibilities and
  • Achieving potential

Retail: $9.95

ISBN-13: 978-0-9825984-5-0

About Dayton Book Expo

The Dayton Book Expo was created in 2010 by three local authors: LaTonya Branham, Charlotte Brown and Valerie J Lewis Coleman. The objective is to promote and encourage literacy in the Dayton area by connecting book lovers.

About Trotwood-Madision City Schools

Trotwood-Madison City Schools are committed to lifelong learning facilitated by an innovative and dedicated staff, community participation and state-of-the-art resources in a stimulating atmosphere. The district is hopeful that the next levy will pass so that programs such as Creative Writing and Passionate Pens continue.

About Passionate Pens

In 2006, Valerie J. Lewis Coleman, took her writing and publishing curriculum to prisons and schools. The following year, the first Passionate Pens book - Tainted Mirror An Anthology -debuted. The book is a call to action to stop making excuses, walk in purpose and fulfill destiny.

The program objective is to promote literacy by

  • Exposing students to the book-publishing industry
  • Compiling and publishing writings by the students
  • Providing each contributor with a copy of the anthology
  • Establishing credibility as published authors
  • Debuting the anthology at the Dayton Book Expo
  • Offering this program FREE to participating students
  • Generating revenue for the sponsoring institution

# # #

Passionate Pens is a division of

Pen of the Writer, LLC

Valerie J Lewis Coleman

No comments:

Post a Comment

DISCLAIMER

Know4LIFE's YES News is a blog designed to bring alternative news and information that is relevant to Youth and their Parents. As such, any and all views and opinions expressed herein, regardless of authorship, do not represent the views or opinions of any author's employer or people, institutions or organizations that the author may or may not be related to or affiliated with unless explicitly stated otherwise. YES News includes links to other sites/blogs operated by third parties. These links are provided for convenience and informational purposes only. As such, the information, opinions, products, and/or services contained therein do not reflect the views and opinions of or represent endorsement Know4LIFE or YES Media. All images that appear on YES News are under the copyright of their respective owners. Know4LIFE's YES News does not claim credit for any image unless explicitly stated. If you own the rights to any image appearing on YES News and do not wish for it to appear, please notify Know4LIFE immediately and the image shall be promptly removed.