Max Cleland
Vietnam Veteran, former U.S. Senator, powerful storyteller

Max Cleland is a decorated Vietnam War veteran and former U.S. Senator from Georgia who has served as the head of the Veterans Administration and on the 9/11 Commission. He became Secretary of the American Battle Monuments Commission in 2009. His two books, Strong at the Broken Places and Heart of a Patriot, are personal memoirs that recount the trials and triumphs of a life of service – from the grenade explosion in Vietnam that left him a triple amputee to his years in Washington, DC.

Nate Evans
New York Times Bestselling Children’s Author

New York Times bestselling children’s author and illustrator Nate Evans has illustrated and written over 35 books. His latest on the Times list, The Jellybeans and the Big Dance, is co-authored with Laura "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" Numeroff . Says School Library Journalof the book, "Right from the glittery cover...it will be hard for young readers to resist this book." A new addition to the Jellybean series premieres in 2010. And, for something completely different, Nate has another new series of funny, creepy, and totally action-packed mysteries, called Humpty Dumpty, the Hard-boiled Detective. It was recently named an "Inspired recommendation for kids" by independent booksellers.

For Further Reading: Author's Website

Jack McDevitt
Award-winning sci-fi "heir to Asimov and Clarke"
-- Stephen King

Jack McDevitt is one of the reigning masters of science fiction, especially for his exploration of the human race making contact with aliens. Steven King named him "The logical heir to Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke." McDevitt has written 16 sci-fi novels, including Chindi, Omega, Polaris, Seeker, The Devil's Eye, and his most recent book, Time Travelers Never Die. Nine of his books, including the last six, have been finalists in the Nebula Awards, given by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. McDevitt won the Nebula for his book, Seeker.

For Further Reading: Author's Website

Ferrol Sams
Georgia Writers Hall of Fame,
Top 25 Books by Living Georgia Writers

Ferrol Sams is a family doctor and a natural born storyteller who has captured a national audience with his witty, affectionate portraits of life in Georgia between the World Wars. Author of eight books, his Run with the Horseman, earned this praise from the New York Times: "The writing is elegant, reflective and amused. Dr. Sams is a storyteller sure of his audience and gifted with perfect timing." He is a member of the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame and has two titles included in the list of Top 25 Books by Living Georgia Authors.

Natasha Trethewey
Pulitzer Prize Winner

Natasha Trethewey received the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 2007 with her third book of poetry, Native Guard, described as "muscular, luminous poems [that] explore the complex memory of the American South history that belongs to all Americans." She has two other published poetry collections, including Bellocq’s Ophelia which was named a Notable Book by the American Library Association and has had work published in anthologies such as the American Poetry Review. Currently, she is Phillis Wheatley Distinguished Chair in Poetry at Emory University. In 2008 she was named Georgia Woman of the Year.

For Further Reading: Author's Website

Philip Lee Williams
Civil War fiction, Top 25 books by Living Georgia Authors

Philip Lee Williams is the author of 14 books, including ten novels, three works of non-fiction, and a volume of poetry. His novel A Distant Flame was named winner of the annual Michael Shaara Award as the best Civil War novel published in the America, and has been named, by The Georgia Center for the Book as one of "The 25 Books that All Georgians Should Read." The Heart of a Distant Forest and The Song of Daniel have each earned him the honor of Georgia Author of the Year. In 2009, he released a novel called The Campfire Boys, and a collection of poetry called Elegies for the Water. His next book, The Flower Seeker, an epic poem about 18th century naturalist and explorer William Bartram, will be out in the fall of 2010. Williams is also a prize-winning documentary film writer and producer, has published more than a thousand feature newspaper stories and some 500 personal columns.

For Further Reading: Author's Website

Lori Amy
"Brave, fascinating and compelling" study of violence

A long-time author of scholarly articles, Lori Amy’s first book, The Wars We Inherit, was published this year. In this book, called "brave, fascinating and compelling," Dr. Amy combines personal memoir and critical analysis, linking the violence we live in our homes to the violence that structures our larger culture. Placing individual experience in cultural context, Amy argues that "if we can begin, in our own lives, to transform the destructive ways that we have been shaped by violence, then we might begin to transform the cultural conditions that breed violence." Amy is an Associate Professor in the Department of Writing and Linguistics.

Tina McElroy Ansa
Top 25 Books by Georgia Living Writers

Tina McElroy Ansa is a novelist, publisher, filmmaker, teacher and journalist. But above all, she is a storyteller. She calls herself “part of a long and honored writing tradition, one of those little Southern girls who always knew she wanted to be a writer.” She grew up in Middle Georgia in the 1950s hearing her grandfather’s stories on the porch of her family home and strangers’ stories downtown in her father’s juke joint, which have inspired Mulberry, Georgia, the mythical world of her four novels, Baby of the Family, Ugly Ways, The Hand I Fan With and You Know Better.

For Further Reading: Author's Website

Bertice Berry
Sought-after national lecturer and best-selling author

Sociologist, and award winning lecturer Bertice Berry, is one of the country’s most sought after lecturers. She combines her skills as a sociologist and researcher with her ability to make audiences think and laugh at the same time. She is the best-selling author of I'm On My Way, But Your Foot Is On My Head and six other books. Berry was the host of her own nationally syndicated talk show and has been featured on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," and ABC’s "20/20".

For Further Reading: Author's Website

David Bottoms
Georgia’s Poet Laureate and Georgia Writer’s Hall of Fame

David Bottoms', the Poet Laureate of Georgia and member of the Georgia Writer's Hall of Fame, is known for evocative, personal and spirit-filled poetry. His first book, Shooting Rats at the Bibb County Dump, was selected by Robert Penn Warren as winner of the 1979 Walt Whitman Award of the Academy of American Poets. His newest book of poetry, Working the Heavy Bag, is forthcoming is 2010. He is also the author of six other books of poetry, In a U-Haul North of Damascus, Under the Vulture-Tree, Armored Hearts: Selected and New Poems, Vagrant Grace, Oglethorpe’s Dream, and Waltzing through the Endtime, as well as two novels, Any Cold Jordan and Easter Weekend. His poems have appeared widely in magazines such as The Atlantic, The New Yorker, Harper's, The Paris Review, and Poetry.

Janice Daugharty
"A voice so rich that a single page can be thrilling."
-- New York Times

Janice Daugharty, chronicler of life and people in south Georgia, has built a national reputation around her stories of our region. The New York Times Book Review has said of her work, “Sensuous, swift, full of sparkling twists, [Daugharty's] is a voice so rich that a single page can be thrilling." The Washington Post Book World comments, “Daugharty writes taut and vivid prose that brands white-hot images on your gray matter and makes you sit up straight with admiration. She is the author of seven novels and two collections of short stories. Her new novel The Little Known, published this year, is a coming-of-age story of hope and forgiveness about a young African American boy in the turbulent 1960’s segregated south.

For Further Reading: Author's Website

Rebecca Davis
Biographer of great Georgia women

Rebecca Davis, J.D., is co-author of Judge Faye Sanders Martin: Head Full of Sense, Heart Full of Gold. This powerful biography focuses on the life and times of a Faye Sanders Martin who overcame obstacles of gender, poverty, and alcoholism to become the first woman appointed to the Georgia Superior Court bench and the first woman chief superior court judge in Georgia. Davis, who has also written scholarly pieces for legal journals, is currently working on Seizing Serendipity: the Biography of Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears, a biography of the nation’s first African-American woman Chief Justice of a state’s highest court. Davis is an associate professor of political science at Georgia Southern University.

David Dudley
An elemental drama about the search for identity
-- Booklist

David Dudley, professor of African-American Literature and chair of the Department of Literature and Philosophy at Georgia Southern University, takes young readers inside the harsh realities of racism in rural Georgia in the 1920s and 1940s. His first novel for young readers, The Bicycle Man, lets readers see through the eyes of a 12-year-old girl how her life blends both warm family relationships and painful discrimination. Says the Booklist Review, “Firmly rooted in the time and place, this first novel is an elemental drama about the search for identity and the answer to the question, when do you stand.” His second novel for young readers is due to be published in 2010.

Damon Lee Fowler
Critically acclaimed cookbook author, rave reviews from Publisher’s Weekly

Damon Lee Fowler is the author of six critically acclaimed cookbook, including The Savannah Cookbook. Said Publisher’s Weekly of New Southern Baking: "Fowler believes ‘each recipe tells a story.’ Happily for readers, the author is an excellent storyteller. This cookbook is a treat, equally satisfying to cook from or to read.” Of New South Kitchen they raved “this book a must for anyone who loves Southern cuisine." The feature food writer for the Savannah Morning News, Fowler's work has also appeared in Food & Wine and Relish, and he is was editor and recipe developer for the Jefferson Foundation’s first Monticello Cookbook, Dining at Monticello.

For Further Reading: Author's Blog

Erica Glasener
HGTV Host and New York Times contributor

Horticulturist and author, Erica Glasener has hosted A Gardener’s Diary on Home and Garden Television (HGTV) for fourteen years, sharing ideas with millions across the country on how to beautify their gardens, yards, homes and lives. Her newest book is Proven Plants Southern Garden, published this year. She is the co-author The Georgia Gardener’s Guide and Month-By-Month Gardening in Georgia with Walter Reeves. She also writes a b-weekly column on plants and garden design for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, has served as a contributing editor for Fine Gardening and had articles appear in the New York Times, The Farmer’s Almanac and Atlanta Magazine. Among her favorite gardening topics are fragrant plants, perennials, the winter garden and garden design.

For Further Reading: Author's Website

Lauretta Hannon
National Public Radio commentator, Southern Indie Best-seller

Lauretta Hannon is the author of The Cracker Queen—A Memoir of a Jagged, Joyful Life (Gotham Books, April 2009) and a commentator on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered, where her stories reach 25.5 million listeners. Since 2000 she has also been known for her Georgia Public Radio stories, many of which celebrate strong, authentic Southern women (Cracker Queens). Her memoir became a Southern Indie Bestseller three weeks after its release.

For Further Reading: Author's Website

William Harris
Civil War fiction "highly recommended" by Library Journal

William Harris infuses tales of historic intrigue with his intimate knowledge of Savannah people, history, and surroundings. Library Journal highlighted William Harris' first novel, Delirium of the Brave as "highly recommended." The Savannah-set novel follows the tale of lost Civil War gold to modern day treasure seeking heirs. Mr. Harris later books return to the Low Country setting and include No Enemy But Time and Wassaw Sound. Says Cover to Cover of Mr. Harris’ talent: "What Harris writes are not so much novels as sagas. His narratives range over decades and centuries as he tells the stories of the Irish-Catholic families who have been leading lights in Savannah for so long."

Raven Hart/Susan Goggins
The Savannah Vampires romance novelist

"When it comes to a wild and seductive nightlife, Savannah has bite" That’s the view of Raven Hart, the pen name of Susan Goggins and author of the wildly successful Savannah Vampires romance series. Publishers Weekly called The Vampire's Seduction, "Suspenseful... sexy... atmospheric...funny..." The series follows the life - and nightlife - of vampire William Cuyler Thorne, described by Publisher’s Weekly as "a 500-year-old socialite living in contemporary Savannah, Ga." Other books in the series include The Vampire's Secret and The Vampire's Kiss, among others. Hart/Goggins has been a newspaper reporter, a Washington speechwriter and a romance novelist for Harlequin.

For Further Reading: Author's Website

Sonya Huber
A brave book of policitcs, history and love

Sonya Huber's creative nonfiction, Opa Nobody, is Huber's search for meaning and resonance in the life of her grandfather Heina Buschman, a committed and beleaguered activist whose story echoed her own. Said one reviewer, "Opa Nobody is a brave book of politics, history, and love -- a book filled with an irrepressible embrace of humanity". Huber has also written Cover Me: A Health Insurance Memoir, and The Backwards Research Guide for Writers: Using Your Life for Reflection, Connection, and Inspiration. She teaches in the Department of Writing and Linguistics at Georgia Southern University and in the Low-Residency MFA Program at Ashland University.

For Further Reading: Author's Website

Annette Laing
Acclaimed adventure novels make history "non-boring" for kids

"Boring history for kids should be banned forthwith." That’s the mantra of Annette Laing, author of The Snipesville Chronicles. And the proof is in that acclaimed series of adventure novels about three kids who time-travel through British and American history. After putting her PhDs in Early American and Modern British History to work in university classrooms for 15 years, Laing turned her attention to a younger audience, creating “non-boring history” for kids. Said one Amazon reviewer of Laing’s historic fiction, “This brought back my son's love of reading again.” She has also developed children's history programs, most notably TimeShop, featured in an Associated Press story. Laing is a frequent consultant to schools and lecturer at professional education councils across the country.

For Further Reading: Author's Website

Pamela Bauer Mueller
Georgia Author of the Year

Pamela Bauer Mueller is intrigued with Low Country local history. Neptune's Honor retells the local legend of Neptune Small, a slave who performed a loving and heroic deed for his master's son. An Angry Drum Echoed: Mary Musgrove, Queen of the Creeks tells the story of a Creek woman who met General Oglethorpe's ship when he landed to colonize Georgia. Both books have won her a Georgia Author of the Year Award in the Young Adult category. Mueller wrote her first book, The Bumpedy Road as a tribute to my daughters. When school age readers wrote to her, asking for a sequel, Rain City Cats was the response, followed by Eight Paws to Georgia. She also the author of Hello, Goodbye, I Love You, which recounts her daughter’s experience raising a puppy for Guide Dogs for the Blind.

For Further Reading: Author's Website

Eric Nelson
Award-winning poet featured by Poetry Magazine

Eric Nelson's most recent collection of poems, The Twins, won the 2009 Split Oak Press (splitoakpress.com) chapbook competition. His poems have appeared in many journals, including Poetry, The Southern Review, Missouri Review, Poetry Northwest, The Christian Science Monitor, and Yankee. He has been a Featured Poet on Poetry magazine's website and on Verse Daily and Poetry Daily. Several anthologies, including A New Geography of Poets, (University of Arkansas Press); I Feel A Little Jumpy Around You, (Simon and Schuster); and Georgia Voices(University of Georgia Press), also contain his poetry.

Among his awards are the X.J. Kennedy Poetry Award, the Arkansas Poetry Award, the Split Oak Press chapbook award, and fellowships to the Hambidge Center for the Arts and the Virginia Center for Creative Arts.

His books include The Twins (Split Oak Press, 2009), Terrestrials (Texas Review Press, 2004), The Interpretation of Waking Life (University of Arkansas Press, 1991), The Light Bringers (Washington Writers Publishing House, 1984), and On Call (Moonsquilt Press, 1983).

He teaches in the Writing and Linguistics Department at Georgia Southern University.

For Further Reading: Author's Website

Sally Russell
"An affectionate tribute to country life"
-- Booklist

Sally Russell's Shatter Me with Dawn: A Celebration of Country Life was described by Booklist this way: “this charming collection of essays serves as an affectionate tribute to country life... Both humorous and spiritual in tone, these celebratory tales and lessons constitute a vivid tapestry of one woman's ordinary and extraordinary experiences." She is also the author of a second memoir, Latitude of Home: A Storytelling Journey. Amazon said of it, "Russell invites readers to consider their own repertoires of stories, what they can learn about and from their own family myth, and how they can share that myth to inform, delight and strengthen." Russell, a teacher of English, French, and writing is also the author of A Heart for Any Fate: The Biography of Richard B. Russell, Sr., and the editor of The Selected Letters of Ina Dillard Russell.

Karen White
Award-winning novelist, 5-time Georgia Author of the Year nominee

Karen White has published eleven award-winning novels, including The House on Tradd Street, which Publishers Weekly called an "engaging novel…White skillfully balances her tale at the meeting point of romance, mystery and ghost story.A fun and satisfying read." Her 2009 book, The Girl on Legare Street, part of that popular Tradd Street series, debuted at #31 on the New York Times bestseller list. In 2010, White’s new Southern women's fiction ("grit lit") novel, On Folly Beach, will be published and a paperback version of Falling Home will be issued in the Fall. White’s other books include Pieces of the Heart, and The Color of Light. White has been nominated five times for Georgia Author of the Year honors.

For Further Reading: Author's Website

Ron Anglin
Juggler, entertainer, educator

Ron Anglin – juggler, entertainer and educator – will provide ongoing entertainment throughout the day for children and the young at heart. With his act, called Quite a Catch!, Ron primarily performs in schools and libraries. He teaches circus arts for Cirque du Soleil’s outreach program, Cirque du Monde. His programs were endorsed by the Georgia Council for the Arts and have been performed in 23 states.

For Further Reading: Performer's Website