Ravi Howard visits KSU with a little help from the WRIT 3109 'Careers in Writing' class

KENNESAW, Ga. (May 3, 2016) — Undergraduate students in Dr. Lara Smith-Sitton’s Careers in Writing class drafted and executed a 32-page media plan for the visit of Novelist Ravi Howard to the Kennesaw campus on April 14, 2016. The students wrote press releases and contacted a variety of media outlets, wrote social media content, and designed flyers. They also brainstormed interview questions and engaged with Mr. Howard in a lively Q-and-A when he visited their class. Afterwards, Mr. Howard visited a graduate fiction writing class and read from his novel in a public program, where student Mustafa Abubaker gave him a humorous and enthusiastic introduction.

Mr. Howard is an award winning novelist and journalist. His debut novel, Like Trees, Walking was a finalist for both the Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award and the Hurston-Wright Legacy Award for Debut Fiction in 2008. His latest novel, Driving the King has been widely praised for its portrayal of Nat King Cole during The Civil Rights Movement period. Mr. Howard has been a commentator for NPR’s “All Things Considered” and a sports writer for HBO’s Inside the NFL for which he won an Emmy in 2005.

Mr. Howard’s public reading attracted more than 75 students, faculty and community members. The visit was a part of a long history of authors’ visits sponsored by the Department of English. Partners in this year’s visit were The Center for African and African Diaspora Studies, The Interdisciplinary Studies Department and the Georgia Writers’ Association.