Literature is something that shapes youth and adult minds alike. It can be an escape from the stress of the outside world, a chance to see things from a different perspective or a simple form of entertainment. 

Shawn Pryor is a computer support specialist for the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center, but off the clock he’s an author who has written over 60 books ranging from children’s graphic novels to comic books.   

Pryor’s passion for writing started with his parents who frequently took him to the library. 

“We didn’t have a lot of money when I was coming up as a child, so we went to a library every Saturday, and it was there I just acquired a major love of reading, didn’t matter whether it was graphic novels, science fiction, science fantasy, didn’t matter as long as it caught my interest,” Pryor said.

A stand-out comic for a young Pryor was “The Dark Knight Returns,” written by Frank Miller, Klaus Janson and Lynn Varley. Even though it scared him a bit, this was also the comic that made him evaluate comics as works of literature, according to Pryor.   

Pryor said his mother was a big inspiration for his writing career. During a trip to a comic store with her he found an “Iron Man” comic featuring the character James Rhodes (Rhodey). This was one of the first times he saw a superhero, who was one of his favorites, that looked like him and it inspired him to write.

“I was like, ‘Hey can I write stories like this?’ And she (his mother) was like, ‘Yeah, you can.’ and so that’s she’s a very big reason why I do this today,” Pryor said.

After working in the comic book industry for around eleven years, he was feeling a little stuck and that was when the children’s book company named Capstone reached out to him asking about writing children’s literature, according to Pryor. 

Along with writing, Pryor works with a group of children from Winburn Middle School every other Saturday. He talks to them about comics and sequential artwork.   

“We try to show them the ropes of how to make their own comics, how to create their own characters, world building. I have an absolute blast doing it . . .  I want to say this is year number four, and so it means a lot to me,” Pryor said.

According to Pryor, his favorite part of working with these kids is being able to show them the paths they can take once they’re done with school.

“The fact that they get to see that once they graduate from high school or go to college or wherever they choose to do, that there is a bigger world outside of their window,” Pryor said.

An example he uses to display that inspiration comes from how originally “The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” was a tribute to “Daredevil,” according to Pryor. 

“I tell the school kids all the time that the video games they played, somebody had to write that, the music that they listened to, somebody had to write that, the movies they watch, somebody had to write that. So writing, and creating art are very important pieces of our lives,” Pryor said.

A big lesson he teaches to the kids he sees is the three steps that come with writing. 

“You need three things in order to write a story. You need an idea, an outline and then just start writing. So, it’s important for kids to understand that everything is formed from an idea, that thought or image or something that just pops in your head,” Pryor said.

According to Pryor, during one of his Q and A segments at a school visit in Bowling Green, Kentucky, there was a student who was very excited to ask questions, but needed a translator because English was their second language.  

“He was just so excited that, one, he was able to ask his question, two, I was able to understand it, three, he said how much he wanted to write books and stuff like that. So to be able to spread that joy is just an amazing thing,” Pryor said.

Through all the book bans that currently face our country, he is nervous for what’s to come for the future generations and if he will even be able to meet with schools and kids, according to Pryor.  

Pryor has done around 15 school visits as of March 13.

“I’ve never been this in demand before. So this is something new for me. I have schools reaching out to me personally, and so it’s a good feeling,” Pryor said.

Wanting to spread hope to the kids he gets to see is something he aims to do through these school visits, according to Pryor. 

“You may not always win. You can have the best plan in the world. You can have done everything correctly, and you can still lose, so you have to learn from those losses and pick yourself back up,” Pryor said.

Pryor currently has his first young adult novel in the works. Through his works of literature, lessons and school visits, Pryor gets to show the future authors of our world how to pursue their creative endeavors.