AUGUSTA, Ga ()- This week marks the 15th annual celebration of “Georgia Pre-K Week” by the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning, emphasizing the critical role of early education.

NewsChannel 6’s Kim Vickers sat down with the co-authors of this year’s featured book to talk about it.

“A few years back, I received a phone call from Georgia’s Department of Early Care and Learning about their pre-K initiative. They needed a Georgia author to pen a book for the program, and I was honored to be chosen for this opportunity,” shared Malcolm Mitchell.

Malcolm Mitchell, once a Georgia Bulldog and New England Patriot, and now a children’s book author, teamed up with Coy Bowles, a children’s book author, musician, and member of the Zac Brown Band. Together, they created “Every Amazing Story: A Writing Adventure with Coy and Malcolm.”

“During a teacher appreciation event, I learned that prior to my involvement, Coy had already contributed several books to Georgia Pre-K. We were encouraged to collaborate,” said Mitchell.

Bowles and Mitchell agreed and soon started working together to try to come up with a concept for the book.

“We asked ourselves, ‘Besides being from Georgia, what else do we have in common?’ We realized we both write books, and thought, ‘Why not create a book about the process of writing a book?’ That’s the premise of this new book,” explained Bowles.

Both men told us they are passionate about children’s literacy and they want to be involved in fostering a love of reading in Georgia’s kids.

“Honestly, as I became more aware of the issues facing children in our country, especially within our state, I felt compelled to contribute positively. It’s been my mission ever since,” Bowles stated.

During Georgia Pre-K Week, every child in the state’s Pre-K program will get a free copy of Bowles’s and Mitchell’s new book.

They said the process was fun and they enjoyed working together and hope to do it again soon.

“It was a great adventure, too. We got to really know each other and become good friends and all the things that you would hope that would happen, actually happened. You know, we’re on a mission now to actually hang out in real life. Every time we talk, we’re like, okay, so when are we going to really hang out and be friends?” Bowles said.

While the book isn’t available to the public yet, soon it will be available on Bowles and Mitchell’s websites and Amazon, so keep an eye out.

Coy Bowles Website

Malcolm Mitchell Website

Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning Website