All Student Success Letters

Jake Wizner

Dear Gotham,

I've always loved to write, but it was not until I started taking classes at Gotham that I began to think about the possibility of becoming a published author. I started in the Beginning Children's Book class, moved on to the advanced class (which I took twice), and emerged with most of a middle grade novel. The quality of instruction was outstanding, and in each of my three classes, my classmates and I really came to see ourselves as a community of writers.

The work I did in my classes at Gotham went a long way in helping me land an agent, and my experiences inspired me to continue writing, even when I no longer had the weekly classes to keep me on track. This past September, Random House published my first novel, Spanking Shakespeare, which was named a Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library Association and received a starred review from Publisher's Weekly. I am currently finishing revisions on a second young adult novel that Random House will publish next year.

Thank you, Gotham, for creating an environment that inspired me to pursue my writing more seriously and for setting me on the path to becoming a published author.

All the best,
Jake Wizner
jakewizner.com