Author encourages students to pursue careers in writing
GENTRY — Alex Langley spoke to students in the Gentry High School library on Thursday about pursuing a career they love. He used his own experiences as a published author and those of others as examples.
“He came to speak to high school students about the process of becoming and sustaining a career in writing,” said Allison Blanchard, media specialist at the high school. “He shared his experiences and expertise on the subject. There were a formal presentation and question and answer time. He spoke with students in various English, reading and theater classes. He also held a short meet and greet during lunch.”
Langley has published a number of books and explained to students the importance of continuing to develop one’s writing skills by both writing and reading. He pointed out to students that there were ways to make money as a nerd, corresponding to the name of one of his books, “Make a Nerdy Living.”
According to biographical information provided to students in the library, “Alex Langley can control gravity, swim at over eighthundred miles per second, and has a dangerous, borderline nuclear passion for writing. He also writes news, interviews and comics for the website rocketllama.com, has over 20,000 followers on twitter, and edits content for geek girl/web celebrity @ actionchick Katrina Hill at actionflickchick.com. Thousands follow his work online, and he has been a speaker on panels at conventions, including Wonder-Con, and San Diego Comic-Con International. His published works also include academic papers.
“He’s the author of several ‘geektacular’ books such as ‘Make a Nerdy Living’ by Sterling Publications, ‘The Geek Handbook’ series, ‘100 Greatest Graphic Novels,’ and the young adult graphic novel ‘Kill the Freshman.’ He’s written about retro and modern gaming for Arcadesushi.com and NerdSpan.com, can frequently be found speaking on panels at fan conventions, as well as doing lots of other cool stuff all over the place.”