HOUSTON – Houston author and entrepreneur, Gwen Richardson, has released the 2018 edition of her NAACP Image Award-nominated book, 101 Scholarship Applications: What It Takes to Obtain a Debt-Free College Education.

Ms. Richardson’s daughter has attended North Carolina Central University (NCCU), an HBCU, for four years as an accounting major and is entirely debt-free. The cost of her daughter’s education–$30,000 per year including out-of-state fees–has been financed entirely with scholarships and grants. She will graduate in May 2018.

Ms. Richardson began researching scholarship opportunities when her daughter was a sophomore in high school. As a result, her daughter entered NCCU debt-free as a freshman. The author’s research culminated in the creation of the first edition of the book, which was published in September 2014. That edition was nominated for an NAACP Image Award, and a revised edition of the book is published in January of every year.

The highlight of the book is a comprehensive listing of more than 250 scholarship sources, including award amounts, eligibility requirements, and direct website links. The 2018 edition is available on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle formats, and autographed copies may be obtained via the author’s website, www.gwenrichardson.com.

Retired Army officer George Hudson of Edgewood, Maryland, purchased the book to assist his son with college finances. “My son finished The Citadel in 3.5 years and left school with a surplus of funds,” says Hudson.

Ms. Richardson is a frequent speaker and advocate for debt-free college and periodically hosts seminars on this topic. She also conducts free 15-minute Facetime sessions with groups of 5 or more as long as one person from the group has purchased the paperback version of the book. Sign up for one of the 15-minute Facetime sessions online here: https://goo.gl/6KYpiF

Starting Monday, January 15th, Ms. Richardson will host a 12-week series of Monday evening live chats via Facebook at 7:00 p.m. CST. The 15-minute chats will cover topics related to debt-free college and the scholarship process. The video chats and other information about scholarship opportunities will be posted on this Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/debtfreecollegebook/ .