Still more about the exciting 2011 Speakers and Discussion Leaders
Taylor Stevens
Carlton Stowers
Tim Tingle
Jan Roberts Wood
Carlton Stowers
Tim Tingle
Jan Roberts Wood
Taylor Stevens is the New York Times bestselling author of the critically praised thriller, THE INFORMATIONIST, first in the Vanessa Michael Munroe series (Crown, 2011). Born in New York state and into the Children of God, an apocalyptic religious cult spun from the Jesus Movement of the '60s, Stevens was raised in communes across the globe. Separated from her family at age twelve and denied an education beyond sixth grade, she lived on three continents and in a dozen countries before reaching fourteen, living fairly isolated from American literature and pop culture. In place of schooling, the majority of her adolescence was spent begging on city streets, caring for younger commune children, washing laundry, and cooking meals for hundreds at a time.
In her twenties Stevens broke free in order to follow hope and a vague idea of what possibilities lay beyond. When she broke ties with the “Family,” she came to Dallas, where the mother of two discovered the joys of fiction, particularly suspense novels, and also began to write.
In her twenties Stevens broke free in order to follow hope and a vague idea of what possibilities lay beyond. When she broke ties with the “Family,” she came to Dallas, where the mother of two discovered the joys of fiction, particularly suspense novels, and also began to write.
Fans of Lee Childs will love The Informationist
Vanessa Munroe—a resourceful loner who grew up overseas—has combat training, a wry sense of humor, and plenty of sex appeal. Vanessa Munroe deals in information—expensive information—working for corporations, heads of state, private clients, and anyone else who can pay for her unique brand of expertise. A Texas oil billionaire hires her to find his daughter who vanished in Africa four years ago.
Pulled into the mystery of the missing girl, the character Munroe finds herself back in the land of her childhood, betrayed, cut off from civilization, and left for dead. If she has any hope of escaping the jungle and the demons that drive her, she must come face-to-face with the past that she's tried for so long to forget.
Stevens now juggles full-time writing with full-time motherhood. This promising first-time novelist always has had a fertile imagination. Frequently referring to “in another life” or “in an alternate universe,” Stevens alludes to her long experience blogging, as well as to her cult upbringing.
She has sequels to The Informationist planned: THE INNOCENT, set for release in 2012, and THE DOLL in 2013.
Find more about Stevens at her web site taylorstevensbooks.com
Stevens now juggles full-time writing with full-time motherhood. This promising first-time novelist always has had a fertile imagination. Frequently referring to “in another life” or “in an alternate universe,” Stevens alludes to her long experience blogging, as well as to her cult upbringing.
She has sequels to The Informationist planned: THE INNOCENT, set for release in 2012, and THE DOLL in 2013.
Find more about Stevens at her web site taylorstevensbooks.com
Carlton Stowers
Among the over two dozen books authored by Carlton Stowers are TO THE LAST BREATH and CARELESS WHISPERS, both winners of the Mystery Writers of America’s Edgar Allen Poe Award as the Best Fact Crime Book of the Year, SCREAM AT THE SKY, INNOCENCE LOST, OPEN SECRETS and his autobiographical SINS OF THE SON. Stowers’ books have been selections of the Book of the Month Club, Literary Guild, Doubleday Book Club, Mystery Book Club, True Crime Book Club, Preferred Choice Book Club, Playboy Book Club, Military Book Club and Guideposts Book Club and five have been optioned by motion picture/TV productions companies.CARELESS WHISPERS inspired the CBS Movie of the Week, “Sworn to Vengeance,” and OPEN SECRETS was the basis for the ABC mini-series, “Telling Secrets.” TO THE LAST BREATH was included in Readers’ Digest’s prestigious TODAY’S BEST NON-FICTION anthology and his writings have been translated into German, French, Japanese, Swedish, Dutch, Afrikaans and Spanish.
He also has authored or co-authored a number of books on sports, ranging from MARCUS, the autobiography of NFL standout Marcus Allen that spent six weeks on the Los Angeles Times bestseller list, to DALLAS COWBOYS: THE FIRST 25 YEARS, which reached No. 1 on the Dallas Morning News bestseller list. An article he wrote on football in a small Texas town was selected for inclusion in the 2004 BEST AMERICAN SPORT WRITING anthology and evolved into his book, WHERE DREAMS DIE HARD, which Morning News columnist Judy Alter ranked as one of the Ten All-Time Best Books on Texas.
Stowers' non-fiction children’s books include A HERO NAMED GEORGE and HARD LESSONS, used by numerous elementary schools in their anti-drug and anti-gang programs. His most recent children’s book, STRENGTH OF THE HEART, was co-authored with Marcus Allen.
He also has authored or co-authored a number of books on sports, ranging from MARCUS, the autobiography of NFL standout Marcus Allen that spent six weeks on the Los Angeles Times bestseller list, to DALLAS COWBOYS: THE FIRST 25 YEARS, which reached No. 1 on the Dallas Morning News bestseller list. An article he wrote on football in a small Texas town was selected for inclusion in the 2004 BEST AMERICAN SPORT WRITING anthology and evolved into his book, WHERE DREAMS DIE HARD, which Morning News columnist Judy Alter ranked as one of the Ten All-Time Best Books on Texas.
Stowers' non-fiction children’s books include A HERO NAMED GEORGE and HARD LESSONS, used by numerous elementary schools in their anti-drug and anti-gang programs. His most recent children’s book, STRENGTH OF THE HEART, was co-authored with Marcus Allen.
Stowers’ articles have also appeared in such publications as Sports Illustrated, TV Guide, Time, People, Parade, Good Housekeeping, American Way, Boys’ Life, the New York Times and Paris Match. DEATH IN A TEXAS DESERT, a collection of crime stories he wrote for the Dallas Observer was published in 2003. He has earned numerous national and state awards for his journalism. A 17-time finalist in the annual five-state Dallas Press Club competition, he has won eight Katie Awards. He is a four-time winner of the Stephen Philbin Award given by the Dallas Bar Association and received a 2007 Texas Gavel Award from the State Bar of Texas for Outstanding Legal Reporting. He has earned a National Community Network Media Award for Exceptional Merit, was a finalist for the Eugene Pullian Journalism Writing Award, has received five Lone Star Awards from the Houston Press Club, and has been cited by the Associated Press Managing Editors Association, the UPI Editors Association, Texas Sportswriters Association, Western Media Publishing Association and the Dallas-Fort Worth Association of Black Communicators.
In 1997 Stowers was honored as Author of the Year by the Friends of the Duncanville Library and in 2001 he was inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters. He is the recipient of the A.C. Greene Literary Award for Lifetime Achievement and the Best Southwest Bookfest Distinguished Author Award. In 2010 he was inducted into the Texas Literary Hall of Fame and in 2011 was inducted into the Big Country Athletic Hall of Fame and named by the Press Club of Dallas as one of the Living Legends of North Texas Journalism.
In 1997 Stowers was honored as Author of the Year by the Friends of the Duncanville Library and in 2001 he was inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters. He is the recipient of the A.C. Greene Literary Award for Lifetime Achievement and the Best Southwest Bookfest Distinguished Author Award. In 2010 he was inducted into the Texas Literary Hall of Fame and in 2011 was inducted into the Big Country Athletic Hall of Fame and named by the Press Club of Dallas as one of the Living Legends of North Texas Journalism.
Tim Tingle
Tim Tingle, a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, is a popular presenter at storytelling and folklore festivals across America. His great-great grandfather John Carnes walked the Trail of Tears in 1835, a memory that fuels Tingle's writing and storytelling. He was featured at the 2002 National Storytelling Festival. In 2004, he was a Teller-In-Residence at The International Storytelling Center, Jonesborough, Tennessee. Choctaw Chief Gregory Pyle has requested a story by Tingle previous to his Annual State of the Nation Address at the Choctaw Labor Day Gathering--a celebration that attracts over thirty thousand people—from 2002 to the present.
Tingle is a published author of children's books and young adult books.
Tingle is a published author of children's books and young adult books.
Tim Tingle Books
Some of the published credits include WHEN TURTLE GREW FEATHERS: A TALE FROM THE CHOCTAW NATION, SPIRITS DARK AND LIGHT: SUPERNATURAL TALES FROM THE FIVE CIVILIZED TRIBES, and CROSSING BOK CHITTO: A CHOCTAW TALE OF FRIENDSHIP AND FREEDOM.
Tingle was a featured speaker at the Native American wing of the Smithsonian Institute in 2006 and 2007. His book SALTYPIE is a family tale of 20th century Indian struggles and triumphs. Read more at his web site timtingle.com
Tingle was a featured speaker at the Native American wing of the Smithsonian Institute in 2006 and 2007. His book SALTYPIE is a family tale of 20th century Indian struggles and triumphs. Read more at his web site timtingle.com
Jane Roberts Wood
Jane Roberts Wood is the award winning author of the Lucy Richards trilogy: THE TRAIN TO ESTELLINE, A PLACE CALLED SWEET SHRUB, and DANCE A LITTLE LONGER, as well as GRACE and ROSEBOROUGH, all published in paperback by University of North Texas Press.
Wood is a Fellow of both the National Endowment of the Arts and the National Endowment of the Humanities.
Wood is a Fellow of both the National Endowment of the Arts and the National Endowment of the Humanities.
OUT THE SUMMERHILL ROAD
her latest novel is a quietly riveting novel revealing the banal faces of evil in a small East Texas town. In 1946 a young couple is brutally murdered in Cold Springs. And, now, thirty-four years later, the rumor is that Jackson Morris, who had been the only person of interest in the murders, has come home. Or has he?
Jane Roberts Wood received the Texas Institute of Letters award in 1998 for the Best Short Story, received a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities to study at Yale, as well as a NEA Fellowship. A member of TIL and PEN, she lives with her husband, Dub, in Dallas.
Jane Roberts Wood received the Texas Institute of Letters award in 1998 for the Best Short Story, received a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities to study at Yale, as well as a NEA Fellowship. A member of TIL and PEN, she lives with her husband, Dub, in Dallas.
