After receiving the Innovator’s Award at the L.A. Times Book Prizes, bestselling author James Patterson visited the Oxbridge Academy to help inspire the next generation of literary innovators. He spent the afternoon on April 13 touring the independent secondary school campus and talking to students about his writing career and the challenges he faced along the way.
Patterson’s latest venture to help kids become passionate readers is called BookShots, quick-read short novels costing less than $5.
Sophomore Aaron Simons interviewed Patterson during an all-school assembly in the dining hall, where Patterson shared highlights of his career from when he began to his current projects.
Students at Oxbridge are familiar with the novel-writing process. Every November, several English classes participate in the National Novel Writing Month challenge to write a 30,000-word novel in 30 days.
Over the last four years, 368 participating students have exceeded the 30,000-word goal. The school’s collective word count is more than 11.5 million words.
ABOVE: James Patterson signs books for Amy Jurkis’s English class.
