E. D. Arrington

A native North Carolinian, I am a graduate of T.C. Williams High School(School of the Titans), and studied business and creative writing in local colleges and universities in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. After a twenty-five year career at the National Education Association, I returned to my North Carolina roots and pursued the craft of writing. Any measure of success I have enjoyed, I credit to my maternal grandparents, Tom and Eva Brown Arrington, who adopted and raised me until their deaths. Their relentless mantra: "Don't ever stop learning," kept me grounded, inspired, and pointed in the right direction in spite of life's steep hills and deeper valleys. The recipient of numerous awards and honors, the featured poet at the first African American North Carolina Book Festival, and gifted to captivate youth and adults alike by my riveting, in-character book readings, I fulfilled my mantra, "To make a difference..." when I founded "It's Time To Read With Me!" an innovative 'read aloud' enrichment literacy program for at-risk youth. I went on to host the first live radio broadcast of the National African American Read-In in Wilson, North Carolina, featuring Dr. Barry C. Black, the first American of African descent to serve as Chaplain of the United States Senate, and the second National African American Read-In, featuring Sheriff Calvin L. Woodard, the first American of African descent to hold that position in Wilson County; In 2012, I conducted the first "It's Time to Read With Me!" Summer Enrichment Literacy Camp comprised of at-risk youth who had never read a book during the summer. Now, each youth can report that he/she not only read an entire book, but did so within six weeks. "When our youth succeed, we all win!"To read more: www.edarringtonbooks.com