80 kids are published authors thanks to this summer project

(MIRROR INDY) — Danijel Yeakey’s 8-year-old daughter, Chelsea, loves books, both reading them and writing her own.

“She was asking for paper to staple together and was like, ‘Mommy, this is my book,’ and she would bring them to her grandparents and have them read the stapled together paper,” Yeakey said.

So when Yeakey heard about a summer book club at Frederick Douglass Park this summer, she knew she wanted to sign Chelsea up.

“I thought, oh, this would be perfect because she’ll actually have a published book,” Yeakey said.

Local musician and author Tevin Studdard created the Literacy Entrepreneurship and Dreams — called LEAD for short — program this summer. Seven weeks later, more than 80 Indianapolis children are now self-published authors with books that can be purchased on Amazon.

“I can keep creating books, but true impact is d...