Alex Simmons is a professional freelance writer, teaching artist, guest speaker, as well as an arts and education consultant.
 
For over 20 years, Simmons has written (and in some cases also created) a number of juvenile mysteries under a variety of pseudonyms for many well-known publishers. He has penned articles for magazines; two educational documentaries; several stage plays; three movie novelizations for Disney, and three biographies for Steck-Vaughn, including one on Denzel Washington.
 
As a writer of comics and graphic novels, Simmons has created and written a critically acclaimed adventure series, Blackjack, about an African-American soldier of fortune in the 1930s. He cocreated an African-American hero for DC Comics in their Batman books, authored several other comic book stories, including tales of Scooby Doo, and several miniseries for Archie Comics. Simmons has also created 12 interactive mysteries for the Tiger Toys electronic game Who Done It(which received three educational awards).
 
Simmons is the founder and coproducer of the Kids’ Comic Con (an age-appropriate comic book convention for children and families), as well as the Color of Comics art exhibition (containing images from artists around the globe representing the portrayal of people of color in comics).
Based on his wide range experiences and knowledge, Simmons has traveled the country as a guest speaker and teaching artist for many years. He has composed and conducted workshops in creative writing (prose, comics, and playwriting), performing and producing for theater. Simmons has received several awards for his work with young people and consulted on a number of creative arts programs and curricula for children. He has also run professional development workshops for teachers and other educators to aid them in using the creative arts to support their academic curriculum.
Currently, Simmons is serving as an Arts in Education consultant for the Children’s Art Carnival; an educational outreach consultant for the Museum for Comic and Cartoon Art (MoCCA) in New York City, and as a board member on the New York State Alliance for Arts Education. He is also codeveloping a program in graphic design and creative media technology at Bronx Community College. The hands-on studio workshop is for middle and high school students. And he co-coordinated a panel on blacks in comics and graphic novels for Book Expo America 2009.
 
To contact him directly:
Alex@simmonshereandnow.com
718-601-0371 / 917-215-0739
 
Feel free to visit his websites:
www.simmonshereandnow.com
www.KidsComicCon.com