Alexander McConduit's "Snowballs for All"

I'm very happy to be included in this year's Top 40 Under 40 by Gambit Weekly. The reception was great and it was nice to network with so many people who are making contributions to our world. It's funny because I actually nominated someone else this year and as I wrote the nomination all I could think about was what I'd accomplish next year so that someone would nominate me.

Last week our 2nd graders began to illustrate their books. They came out great! It's funny because before I began the program I considered having professional illustrators complete the drawings in each book. After seeing the artwork their minds had in store for their books, I'm literally blown away. Take a look at a few of them below!

We're still raising money to have the students' books printed.

Today we finished up Week 2 at W.R.I.T.E. and our last day was one of the best. Artist, Filmmaker & Philanthropist Brandan Odums visited W.R.I.T.E. to speak to our students about what being an artist is all about. He also showed two videos & gave each student a book, bookmark and folder and then........ Mr. Mac came through with the ice cream cups for all of the "good listeners" in the audience.

After my first week with the 2nd Graders at Sci Tech I think we've both learned a lot. The kids learned what a narrative is and the basic elements that narratives encompass. We discussed main characters, plots & settings. All of the students completed their first rough draft of their books and we've got some really interesting stories. We also had author Denise McConduit and author Happy Johnson visit our classrooms on Friday to read their books and to speak to students about being an author & the importance of writing.

Long time, no see. I'm really sorry I haven't posted in a while but I've been BUSY. This past summer I spent most of my days organizing a writing program called W.R.I.T.E. that I successfully launched last week at Sci Tech Academy. W.R.I.T.E. (which is an acronym for Write, Read & Illustrate to Educate) is a Youth Publishing Program designed to take students from all over the New Orleans metro area and transform them into published authors.

This week I'll be in Houston working with students and reading to kids all over the city. I brought both books so I hope the kids out here like the Saints & snowballs. They definitely have a couple Who Dats out here after Katrina.

If you see me in the streets holla HOU-DAT! Stay tuned for photos from and video from 2-Cent's Listen Fest