Jay Rehak has been a writing teacher for 34 years; he is the author of 27 produced short plays and has co-written 14 novels with his students and friends. Sideline Ink (Book Two) continues the adventure of Emma “Sideline” Rockland, an 11 year old entrepreneur who thrives despite her dysfunctional parents. Sideline (Silent Partners) Book Three will be out in January 2020.

 

Honored as the 2014 Chicago Public Schools Tech Innovator of the year, Jay has spoken at numerous educational conferences around the country; his TedX Northwestern talk, “How to Teach Empathy through Collaborative Writing” is available on YouTube. In 2013, Mr. Rehak created and co-authored the award winning 30 Days to Empathy, the world’s first high school class sourced novel.  

 

Subsequently, Jay collaborated with his students, writing and publishing Someone Else’s Shoes, The Absolutely Awesome Adventures of Internet Ed, and The Long, Strange Trip of Augie Stone. Additionally, his non-fiction work, How to Write a Class-Sourced Novel has been used by teachers around the world to create their own collaborative novels.

 

His non-profit organization, the Sideline Foundation helps promote financial and social emotional literacy. Jay is married to award winning children’s singer, Susan Salidor and he has three children, Hope, Hannah and Ali. Additional biographical information is available by contacting him @ jaycrehak@gmail.com