Rising Hills senior publishes book with Jumpmaster Press
Levin has been writing and self-publishing since he was close to 11 years old. He explained how his most recent novel was able to be professionally published.
Contributed by Ben Levin
Levin holding a copy of In the Hole, published by Jumpmaster Press.
Benjamin (Ben) Levin, author and rising senior at Pascack Hills, published his newest book, In the Hole, under Jumpmaster Press, which is a professional publishing company.
Levin became interested in writing at a young age, which came from his passion for reading.
“I’ve always loved stories,” he said.
Jacob Levin is a rising junior at Hills and the author’s younger brother. He explained how his sibling’s passion for stories is seen in his writing process.
“Ben is determined. He rarely gets writer’s block. His imagination is boundless and his creativity is out of this world. It’s so cool to watch him work,” he commented.
The author continued to recall that his love of stories inspired him to rewrite them. As he got older, he started to write original stories. At age 10, his mom referred to one of these stories as a “book,” which led him to start self-publishing.
Levin has been writing and self-publishing since he was close to 11 years old. He explained how In the Hole was able to be professionally published.
“I was already working with an editor and agent who had ties with a company. She said that she wanted In the Hole to be the one published professionally. We sent it in and it was accepted,” he stated.
In the Hole is a young adult novel about homelessness. Levin described how he decided to write about the topic.
“I went to a religious school in eighth grade, and the rabbi showed us a video of homeless children in Florida. I wanted to write about [homelessness] and make a difference,” he explained.
Other topics that Levin enjoys writing about are animals, friendship, history, and sports. Some of his past books that include these topics are “Ghost Wars” and “Ollie and the Race.”
His brother expressed his feelings about Levin’s recent book being published, “I’m really proud of Ben and I’m so glad that he gets to have this opportunity. Jumpmaster Press is a great company and I’m thrilled for him.”
Hills students and staff commented on Levin and his new book.
Rising junior Caitlin Sulzer said, “I am really happy for Ben. I can’t wait to get his book and read it. I’m really interested in what he has to say.”
Vani Apanosian is an English teacher at Hills. She explained how in-class activities impacted the novel.
“I read an early version of Ben’s In the Hole his freshman year. He would incorporate our weekly vocabulary words as a way to study, but the actual story was emotional; I was so impressed. I just ordered my copy, and can’t wait to read the final version,” she said.
Levin explained that his plans for the future include spreading messages through his books that will be published. In terms of In the Hole, he is having a virtual launch party on June 30th from 8 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. Some Hills students have registered using a link in his Instagram bio, @benlevinauthor.
“As a young author who has already written 145 books at 18 years old, I know that Ben inspires and will continue to inspire other young authors,” his brother said.
Briana Keenan is a senior at Hills. She joined the Trailblazer her freshman year as a staff writer and edited for the In-Depth and School News sections her sophomore and junior years, respectively. This year, Keenan is looking forward to being the publication's Editor-in-Chief and continuing to write, edit, and manage stories for the Hills community.
Fun fact: Over the summer, Keenan went to the School of the New York Times for two weeks.
