Philadelphia Children Publishing Their Futures

    PHILADELPHIA, PA, April 15, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Assault, battery, cursing, and corruption have plagued Philadelphia public schools for decades. Philadelphia company, Authentic Publishing LLC, recently published a book, Snitch, which exposes the new ways these problems emerge in urban public schools. The book chronicles the real life experiences of a substitute counselor at one of the nation's most troubled urban middle schools. The book does not identify the school or its location, but historically a number of Philadelphia schools have made the list. The book details students' revelations about crimes they witnessed. It describes teachers pushing bootleg merchandise inside the school. It tells of parents cursing at and fighting each other in and around the school.

For Philadelphia residents, these stories are all too real. Authentic Publishing's owner Julius A. Williams III, who has a background in education and social work in the city, knows this well. "We realize that Snitch has particular significance to Philadelphia residents. This city has been dealing with these kinds of problems for decades," Williams explains. "That is why Authentic is making its contribution to solving them right here in Philadelphia."

Starting April 2009, Authentic Publishing is working to collaborate with public schools in Philadelphia. Authentic is seeking submissions of student work to be considered for publication in a new book titled 100 Little Authors: Never Too Early to Dream Big.

The book will contain children's short stories, essays, poetry, and other creative works that express what the children aspire to be. "This opportunity encourages children to focus on their goals and set clear objectives for their lives. More than anything, it gives them something extremely positive to take away from this school year and something to be very excited about when they return next year," Williams commented. The book is scheduled to be published in the fall of the 2009-2010 school year.

"We received a lot of positive feedback on Snitch, but most people wanted to know what the solution is," Williams explained. Though it will not solve all of the problems, Authentic hopes its latest project will inspire children who participate and encourage others to work towards a solution.

The students whose work is chosen for publication will receive a free book and a t-shirt. A portion of the book's proceeds will go to charity. According to Williams, that is not the project's biggest benefit. "The children's biggest reward is the opportunity to have their work published in a book that will be made available to agencies and schools across the nation. It could jumpstart their futures." Even better, it could jumpstart a solution.

Snitch can be purchased at amazon.com. Authentic Publishing LLC is a privately owned publishing company that aims to create and publish work that lastingly impacts readers and society. For further information please contact us at (215) 495-7300 or [email protected]. You may also visit our website at www.AuthenticPublishingLLC.com.

# # #