Southern Expressions

Authors Conference 2011

- Speakers -

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Keynote Speaker: Curtis Wilkie Born in Greenville MS, Wilkie graduated from the U. of MS in 1963 with a BA in journalism. He served as reporter and editor on the staff of the Clarksdale Press Register 1963-69. He received a Congressional Fellowship from the American Political Science Assoc. and worked on Capitol Hill 1969-71 as a legislative aide in the offices of Sen. Walter F. Mondale (D-Minn.) and Rep. John Brademas (D-Ind,). He served as reporter and editor on the staff of the News-Journal papers in Wilmington, DE, 1971-74.

          Wilkie joined the staff of the Boston Globe in 1975 and served as a national and foreign correspondent for that paper until retirement at the end of the 2000 presidential campaign.

          He has written numerous articles for national magazines such as The Nation, The New Republic, Newsweek, Playboy, George, Washington Journalism Review. Many articles published in the Boston Globe Magazine. He is the co-author, with the late Jim McDougal, of “Arkansas Mischief: Birth of a National Scandal,” author of “Dixie: A Personal Odyssey Through Events That Shaped the Modern South,” and co-authored “City Adrift: New Orleans Before and After Katrina” published by LSU Press 2007.

          Wilkie has served as visiting professor of journalism at the U. of MS since 2002. He was appointed to become the first Overby Fellow with the Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics at the University of Mississippi in 2007.

          Wilkie and his wife, Nancy, reside in Oxford, MS., and New Orleans, LA. He has three grown children, Carter, Leighton & Stuart.

Curtis Wilkie

Keynote Speaker: George Thatcher, a longtime Gulfport, Mississippi, resident, has observed the many changes wrought on the beach by both nature and man.

          George Thatcher has long kept a diary of his daily sojourns on the beach. At first, he did this for his own musing. Then, at the suggestion of a good friend, Thatcher submitted some of his writings to a local newspaper, The Sun (Biloxi, Mississippi). To his delight, he was asked to author a column to appear in the newspaper six days a week. The column has been a tremendous success.

          George Thatcher retired as chairman of Magnolia Federal Bank's Coast Division in 1992 (now Regions Bank), where he still has an office. His 23-year banking career followed 21 years as a partner in Rand-Thatcher Advertising Agency.

          A veteran of World War II and the Korean War, George Thatcher has been active in many Coast and state organizations. He was formerly chairman of the Mississippi Arts Commission. He is active in the Catholic Church, attending Mass daily.

          At 85, George Thatcher's pleasure in beach walking has remained constant since his youth. He still enjoys many other interests, including chess, competitive tennis, reading, and classical music.

          George Thatcher is the author of Beach Walks (out of print), Beach Walks II (out of print), Scenes from the Beach, and A Decade of Beach Walks.

Philip Levin specializes in writing and editing short stories. His stories have appeared in several short story anthologies, on-line journals, and print magazines. He serves as editor of the Gulf Coast Writers Association’s magazine, The Magnolia Quarterly, as well as the anthologies, “Sweet Tea and Afternoon Tales,” “Teacakes and Afternoon Tales,” and "Magnolia Blossoms and Afternoon Tales." His stories have won several contests, including first place in the Dixie Classic RWA.

          As a registered speaker on the Mississippi Speaker Roster, Philip has been the keynote or featured speaker at events from the Picayune Writing Workshop, the Florida Writing Association, the Davidson County North Carolina workshop, and many others.  His other published works include the best seller mystery novel “Inheritance” and children’s pictorial “Consuto and the Rain God.” www.doctorsdreams.net

Dr. Philip Levin

Jeanie Pantelakis - It was never enough to be read to as a child. Jeanie discovered the magic of escaping through the written word and never looked back. So to be a part of the literary arts world is a dream come true.

          Jeanie’s passion is to see her clients succeed. “There is nothing more rewarding than to hold one of my client’s books and know I helped bring it to fruition. I am so blessed and privileged to be able to work with some of the most talented writers in the world.”

          A Literary Agent with Sullivan Maxx Literary Agency, she has over forty clients. Her forte is mystery, romance, thrillers, southern fiction and historical/military fiction/nonfiction. She also enjoys well-written children’s books including picture books. www.sullivanmaxx.com

Jeanie Pantelakis

Amy Wilder Drake - A lifelong bookworm and former theater geek, Amy Wilder Drake graduated from Bryn Mawr College and moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in the entertainment business.  When she realized TV would never supplant books as her first love, she switched gears to pursue a career as a literary agent.  She landed an internship with veteran literary agent BJ Robbins at her Los Angeles-based agency, where she began with reading the slush pile and graduated to representing her own clients...and reading the slush pile.

          Amy is breaking new ground for the agency in YA and children’s books. She also represents commercial women’s fiction, romance and select non-fiction projects.

Amy Wilder Drake

Pat Van Wie, Senior Editor, Mystery and Suspense - Bell Bridge Books, is an author, editor, and writing teacher. She has been immersed in the publishing world for over twenty years.

As an author, she’s published eleven novels for three major publishers, including: Ballantine, Bantam, and Harlequin.  Her last three books were hardcover suspense novels released under the pseudonym Patricia Lewin.

Last year Pat crossed to the other side of publishing when she took a position as senior editor for Bell Bridge Books to build their mystery and suspense list.  However, she reads and acquires for all the genres BBB publishes. In particular, she enjoys all forms of fantasy, from urban to sword and sorcery, and the great YA books surfacing in the market.

Pat has taught writing workshops and classes in various formats and lengths around the country and is currently teaching creative writing at Collin Community College in Frisco, Texas.

Pat Van Wie

Loren Niemi has spent 30 years as a storyteller of philosophically nuanced tales, Fringe Festival performer, director/coach, writer and teacher. He is the author of "The Book of Plots" (Llumina Press) on narrative structures and co-author with Elizabeth Ellis of the critically acclaimed "Inviting the Wolf In: Thinking About Difficult Stories" (August House Publishers). He is also the Executive Director of the nationally recognized, In the Heart of the Beast Puppet &Mask Theatre Contact: 651-271-6349 / niemistory@aol.com

Loren Niemi

Patricia Lorenz is a nationally-known inspirational, art-of-living writer and speaker and the author of thirteen books including Life's Too Short To Fold Your Underwear and The Five Things We Need To Be Happy. She's one of the top contributing writers in the country to the Chicken Soup for the Soul books with stories in over 50 of the Chicken Soup books so far as well as being co-author for three of them. She's had over 400 articles published in numerous magazines and newspapers; is a contributing writer for twenty Daily Guideposts books; four dozen anthologies; and an award-winning newspaper columnist. Patricia raised two daughters and two sons in Wisconsin as a single parent, and now lives in Largo, Florida, where she loves her empty nest and the freedom to follow her dreams while she's still awake. http://www.patricialorenz.com/

Patricia Lorenz

Roland Mann is a writer, editor, and professor. After earning a BS in Creative Writing from the University of Southern Mississippi, Roland Mann became partner/editor in the comic book industry for Silverline and later managing editor for Marvel Comics. With over 500,000 copies of his work in print, he’s authored many titles, including Cat & Mouse, which ran for two years, won critical acclaim, and was optioned by Hollywood. Roland received a Master’s Degree in English from the University of North Alabama and taught at the university level for several years. www.rolandmann.me

          Roland just finished work on his third novel, his agent is working to place his second, and he is busy promoting his first, Buying Time. He plans to earn his MFA in Creative Writing at Spalding University in May. Roland lives in Oxford, Mississippi with his wife Dr. BJ Mann and their two children: Brittany and Brett.

Roland Mann

Dan Case is the editor of Writing for DOLLARS! (www.writingfordollars.com), one of the oldest newsletters on the Internet. Writer’s Digest has included writingfordollars.com as one of the best websites for writers and one of the best places to get published on the Internet. Dan is the co-author of The Complete Guide to Writing and Selling Magazine Articles and author of hundreds of articles, essays, and other short works. He is the current president of  the Oklahoma Writers’ Federation, Inc.

          Since 1997, the beginning of AWOC.COM Publishing and Writing for DOLLARS!, Dan Case has helped hundreds of writers become published and paid for the first time. Dan created the very first free searchable database of writer's guidelines on the Internet. Writing for DOLLARS! was the first Internet newsletter for writers that was dedicated to the business side of writing. Since 2001, AWOC.COM Publishing has published over 80 books under 5 imprints.

Dan Case

Mary Ann O’Gorman is a poet and fiction writer who lives in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Her poems have appeared in Raintown Review, The Bellingham Review, and the New England Poetry Review. She is currently completing her MFA in Creative Writing at Sewanee-The University of the South. Her poetry has two foci: one is the uncovering of the Self, and the other is the pull to empathy for the Other.  Her latest projects include a narrative series addressing the life of a young girl and a series of poems that employ the documented words of survivors of the Rwandan genocide. Mary Ann’s poems explore the connection between form and content, investigating and subverting traditional forms such as sonnets, pantoums, and blank verse.

Mary Ann O'Gorman

Peter Bowerman, a veteran commercial freelancer and writing/publishing coach, is the author of the three award-winning Well-Fed Writer titles (www.wellfedwriter.com), the self-published how-to “standards” on lucrative commercial freelancing – writing for businesses and for $50-125+ an hour – something he’s been doing successfully since 1994.

          He chronicled his self-publishing success (currently, 60,000 copies of his books in print and a full-time living for nine-plus years) in the award-winning 2007 release, The Well-Fed Self-Publisher: How to Turn One Book into a Full-Time Living. He’s had over 300 articles and editorials published, leads seminars on writing and publishing and is a professional coach on both commercial freelancing business start-up and self-publishing.

Peter Bowerman

Patricia Sprinkle grew up in North Carolina and Jacksonville, Florida, so her roots lie deep in southern soil and form the background for her work. Since 1988 she has written 30 mysteries, five non-fiction books, and four novels that depict small towns and Southern cities as they retain the feel of the Old South while blending in newcomer cultures. Her latest novel is Friday’s Daughter, set in a small college town in the North Georgia mountains. When not writing, Sprinkle likes to read, snorkel, and work with growing plants and growing children. Visit the author at www.patriciasprinkle.com

Patricia Sprinkle

Charles W. Sasser has been a full-time freelance writer/journalist/photographer since 1979. He is a veteran of both the U.S. Navy (journalist) and U.S. Army (Special Forces, the Green Berets), a combat veteran and former combat correspondent wounded in action. He also served fourteen years as a police officer (in Miami, Florida, and in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he was a homicide detective). He has taught at universities, lectured nationwide, and traveled extensively throughout the world. He has published over 3,000 magazine articles and short stories in magazines ranging from Guideposts, Parents and Christian Life to Soldier of Fortune, True West, and Writer's Digest. He is author, co-author or contributing author of more than 50 books and novels.

Charles W. Sasser

Jerry D. Simmons is a 34-year veteran of publishing, 25 with Random House and the former Time Warner Book Group. He directed a sales division that generated hundreds of millions of dollars in book sales across the United States and Canada.

          Over the years he has worked on thousands of New York Times bestselling titles and hundreds of New York Times bestselling authors including:

          Today Jerry speaks around the country and his articles have appeared in Writers Digest and numerous publications. He spends his time writing and speaking with writers about the importance of understanding the marketplace and educating them about the business of publishing while sharing the secrets of the largest booksellers and publishers in the world. http://www.writersreaders.com/

Jerry D. Simmons

Peggy Webb a.k.a. Anna Michaels - Native Mississippian Peggy Webb is the author of more than 65 novels, 200 magazine columns, and 2 screenplays.  She consistently appears on the bestseller lists and has garnered many awards, including a Romantic Times Pioneer Award for creating the sub-genre of romantic comedy.  Her novel, Driving Me Crazy, was submitted for a Pulitzer. A former adjunct instructor of writing at Mississippi State University, Peggy currently writes comedic mysteries for Kensington, which star Elvis, the basset hound who thinks he’s the reincarnated King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.   She also writes literary fiction for Simon & Schuster as Anna Michaels.  The Tender Mercy of Roses, her debut novel as Anna, was hailed by Pat Conroy as “an unforgettable story written with astonishing skill and clarity by a truly gifted writer.”  Visit Peggy/Anna at her websites: www.peggywebb.com and www.annamichaels.net and follow her on Facebook.

Peggy Webb

Kathleen Calhoun Nettleton has worked in all facets of the publishing industry during her career with Pelican Publishing Company; the family owned general trade publisher located in Gretna, LA. She has been responsible for reinvigorating the convention and promotion initiatives, and strengthening their national profile. In her current role as Assistant to the Publisher, she manages the day to day operations of this mid-size independent publishing house encouraging growth and development in many areas including the company’s on-line presence.

Kathleen Nettleton

Friday Evening Entertainment

Phyllis Linton has performed extensively throughout the southeast. Her style is influenced by  the rich musical traditions of jazz and blues, gospel, and soul, for which the Deep South is known. Born in Oxford, Mississippi, Phyllis attended The University of Mississippi, and was inducted into The Ole Miss Jazz Alumni Hall of Fame in 1993. She was awarded a Bachelor of Music degree in 1975 and Master of Music degree in 1998. Phyllis presently resides and performs on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Contact : keys4u@live.com

    
Phyllis Linton

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