Read. Respond. Win a scholarship up to $1,000.
Now Read This! Community Book Read
Offers Chance at $1,000 Scholarship to Ivy Tech–Northeast.
Residents of northeast Indiana and northwest Ohio are encouraged to read, discuss and respond creatively to Shooting Star by local author Fred McKissack Jr. This community book read, to be conducted during the next several months, promotes literacy, dialogue about the literary work and the enjoyment of reading the same book as a community.
Ivy Tech−Northeast will also award one or more scholarships worth up to $1,000 for the best creative responses to the book. Entries can include essays, music, dance, multimedia and visual art submissions. Read the submission guidelines.
THE BOOK - Shooting Star by Fred McKissack Jr.
Shooting Star features natural-born athlete Jomo Rogers, who wants to be the “real deal” in high school football . . . in as little time as possible. He adopts a new workout regimen, complete with more weights, longer runs—and steroids. “High school sports are unbelievably competitive, college scholarships are gold and fame has always been an aphrodisiac. I asked myself, if someone told me they had a drug that would’ve secretly made me a few inches taller or smarter in high school, would I have taken it? As an adult, the answer came uncomfortably slow,” McKissack said. “I didn't want to write a book that was pedantic, preachy and has an easy answer. I want the reader to absorb the complexity of the characters, as well as the situation.”
WRITING WORKSHOP, BOOK SIGNING and READING - Thursday, March 22, 2012
- 4–6:30 p.m. Blue Bamboo Cafe open for business
- 4–5 p.m. Creative writers at the high school level and beyond (including faculty) are invited to attend and participate in this interactive writing workshop. The author will introduce some creative writing activities and discuss his own writing process.
- 7–9 p.m. Author’s reading and book signing
WHERE TO FIND THE BOOK
- The New Edition Bookstore - North Campus in lower level of Harshman Hall, Ivy Tech-Northeast
- Ivy Tech’s library - Coliseum Campus (3800 N. Anthony Blvd.)
- Area libraries and other area bookstores
FOR MORE INFORMATION
- Troy Bigelow
- 260-481-2203
- tbigelow@ivytech.edu
GET DIRECTIONS TO IVY TECH'S NORTH CAMPUS
Spring 2011 Scholarship Winners
- Shaquile Coonce - $1,000 scholarship
- Catherine Donovan - $1,000 scholarship
- Ginger Boyer - $500 scholarship
- Mark Rensberger - $500 scholarship
Fredrick McKissack Jr. has nearly 20 years of experience as a writer and editor, most recently serving as an award-winning editorial writer for Fort Wayne’s Journal Gazette.
His latest novel, Shooting Star, (Atheneum/Simon & Schuster, 2009), is about high school football and performance-enhancing drugs. It has received starred reviews from Kirkus and the School Library Journal, as well as an enthusiastic review from Booklist.
In addition to his journalistic work, Fred has written and contributed to books for young people. In 1995, he was a Coretta Scott King Honor Book awardee as co-author of Black Diamond: The Story of the Negro Baseball Leagues (Scholastic, 1994). He is also the author of Black Hoops (Scholastic, 1999), and contributed to Not Guilty: Twelve Black Men Speak Out on Law, Justice, and Life (Amistad, 2002).
Recently he worked with his wife on a series of books on counting through biomes and the holidays for Enslow. McKissack is the co-author of a graphic novel, The Adventures of Deadwood Dick, based on the life of the celebrated black cowboy Nat Love (Chronicle Books, 2011).
