Eight Denton student writers to speak at North Texas Book Festival

by Chad Jones

Eight kids from Denton ISD—who were contestants in the Denton Area Alliance of Black School Educators (DAABSE) 8th Annual Martin Luther King Essay Contest—will be recognized as authors this weekend at the North Texas Book Festival on Saturday, April 21.

The group of young essayists will be featured at a breakout session, scheduled from 12:15 to 12:55 p.m. at the Center for Visual Arts, 400 E. Hickory at Bell Avenue.

The winning writers include:

High school

• Jillique Logan (Ryan High)
• Anny Tseng (Denton High)
• Camille Belle (Marcus High)
• Peter Yeatts (Denton High)
• and Tasha Ricks (Ryan High)

Middle School.

• Briahnna Vernon (Calhoun)
• Kathryn Webb (Calhoun)
• Michael Pittman (Crownover)
• Candace Henslee (Crownover) and
• Asal Naderi (Crownover).

During the festival, the MLK writers will also have a table set up to sell copies of their book, Dream Bearers, a collection of essays written by the contestants in the 8th Annual MLK Essay Contest. The proceeds from the North Texas Book Festival benefit school and public libraries and literacy programs in the North Texas area.

For more information, go to www.ntbf.org.

Source: Denton ISD