Westminster High Students Create a 'Book in a Day' with Published Author

Thirty students and three published authors worked intensively for six hours Tuesday to successfully write and publish a book.

Kwame Alexander has published 14 books, has owned several publishing companies and boasts an endless list of accomplishments in writing, teaching, and the arts. He founded the Book in a Day program in which he works with high school students to not only write the contents of a book, but work with the students to actually publish the book.

"Kids often think of reading and writing as a chore, so my whole thing is how can I make it cool for them," Alexander said. "I believe once kids leave this program they have a whole new level of appreciation for language and literature."

Junior Brittany Roserasnake said that having access to a successful writer meant a lot to her. With aspirations of being a singer and songwriter, she said that experiencing the process of writing and publishing gave some incredible insights.

"It means a lot to me because I've never met a real published author before and it was really fun," Roserasnake said.

Joseph Cudnik-Dutton, a sophomore, said that he really enjoyed working on the cover design. He explained that the students as a group came up with the title of the book, "Four and a Half Fingers."

"This has given us an opportunity to share what we think about the world," Cudnik-Dutton said. "We wrote about four and a half fingers which to me represents searching for that missing piece of what defines who we are."

English teacher Shawn Simms spearheaded the efforts to bring the Book in a Day program to Westminster High. She was instrumental in securing grant money for the program.

"It was perfect ... the kids drove the energy with their love of writing and I think the kids will feel really empowered by the writing that they do and the voice that they have," Simms said.

"It said to me they get it, they just all got it--the love of writing and the love of language," Simms said. "Feeling heard is so important to teenagers; they feel heard."

Over the next few weeks, Alexander will fine tune what was put together by the students and then he will have the book printed. Alexander will return on Dec. 15 for a book party at which time he will give participating students a copy of the book.

"Every student will have a piece of writing in the book," Simms said. "They were writers but also part of the process, everyone was given a job to put the book in order. They were publishers and writers."

"The value was that they sort of felt uplifted by having a renowned writer and two other published writers hold up their books and say, 'This could be you,'" Simms said.

Alexander said that he works with about 15 to 20 schools a year through the Book in a Day program.

"I love it when I'm able to sit down after a few hours of working with students and pretty much just watch. I don't have to do anything because they've gotten the message," Alexander said.

"They understand what they need to do and they're just attacking it. They're fearless, working in this realm they've never worked in before," Alexander said. "I see them working hard and working fast, very professional, it's very exciting and it's just my passion. I love to see it resonating with young people."