Spring Branch ISD Featured News

They say writing a real book is not child’s play. Fourteen-year-old Alex Zhang never heard that message.

Zhang, a 10^th-grader this fall at Spring Branch Academic Institute (SBAI, wrote a poem several years ago for a writing contest and was published in the annual student anthology. Next, he penned a short story. His fantasy piece won a contest grand prize last year, and was also published.

Now Zhang’s 160-page novel, Spark, described as a coming-of-age science fiction/fantasy story for teen and older readers, is shining in the local spotlight.

On Saturday, June 15, at 11 a.m., the youthful writer appears at Blue Willow Bookshop, 14532 Memorial Drive, to talk about his first novel and to sign first editions for fans and other interested readers. Several other book signings have been held in recent weeks.

Spark is the first book in his planned Ember trilogy series, and Alex is already looking ahead. The rising SBAI ninth-grader has accomplished what many writers – teen and adult – only dream about. He’s now working on drafts for the next series book.

“Kids will always say that they want to write their own book. I hear it constantly,” says Melissa Williams Murphy, the founder and CEO of the nonprofit iWRITE literacy group, which published Zhang’s previous works in its annual student anthologies. “There’s a difference between saying you want to write a book, and actually doing it – the work involved in writing the kind of work that people will read.”

iWrite has published more than 650 student authors, half of whom are teenagers. At this time, Zhang is one of only two teen writers from the Houston region who have published books through Murphy’s separate company, LongTale Publishing.

Last fall, Zhang and six other SBISD students were picked for publication in I Write Short Stories by Kids for Kids, the group’s student anthology. The nonprofit iWrite group hosts a yearly publishing contest for youth stories, poems and illustrations in grades 3-12. A weeklong summer writing program with several rising fourth-graders at Spring Branch Elementary was held this week.

Zhang’s success in stand-alone publishing is no secret, Murphy says. Alex wrote, and then wrote again, and rewrote until he had an easy-to-read fiction work. Murphy’s LongTale Publishing group supported editing and the publication process.

“One thing that is unique about Alex – he took the criticism from an editor that other writers often will not so easily receive. He worked so hard to write and then to rewrite, it was absolutely delightful. Alex was better in many ways than many adult authors and writers,” she says.

Zhang, who is also considering a business career in the future, says that the

initial spark for Spark rests with SBISD and his wonderful English teacher, Kelly Treleaven, who works at SBAI’s program for highly gifted middle and high school students.  SBAI, which tests students for admission, is considered one of the few regional programs of its kind supported by a public school district.

Treleaven, Zhang said, “did all the ‘normal’ teacher stuff – essays, assignments, lectures, etc. – incredibly well, but she went above and beyond all that. She fostered a deeper love of the English language within me, teaching me not to view English as something to be spoken and occasionally written, but as a tool of expression which I might use to create something truly great!”

“I can’t describe how grateful I am to Ms. Treleaven. She’s really set the standard for all of my future English teachers,” Zhang says.

On Saturday, he will personally autograph Spark copies from 11 a.m. until noon at Blue Willow Book Shop. Zhang’s book may be obtained through LongTalePublishing.com or by visiting Barnes & Noble stores, or Amazon online.

Congratulations, Alex Zhang!