Karen Dove Barr was fifty years old when the last of her children abandoned her. All that remained was her frantic law practice and three rooms of belongings rejected by the Salvation Army. To fill her spare time Karen tried running on a treadmill at the gym near her Skidaway Island, Georgia home but her husband told her she was too old.

In response she signed up for a women-only 5-K race and was so amazed she survived that she began writing about the experience.

Karen Salyer McElmurray, who has been a landscaper, a casino employee and a landscaper, is the author of Surrendered Child: A Birth Mother’s Journey, described by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution as “a moving meditation on loss and memory and the rendering of truth and story.” McElmurray’s debut novel, Strange Birds in the Tree of Heaven, was winner of the Thomas and Lillie D. Chaffin Award for Appalachian Writing.

After playing hooky one day in the seventh grade to read Gone With the Wind, Karen White knew she wanted to be a writer--or become Scarlett O'Hara. In spite of these aspirations, Karen pursued a degree in business and graduated cum laude with a BS in Management from Tulane University. Ten years later, after leaving the business world, she fulfilled her dream of becoming a writer and wrote her first book. In the Shadow of the Moon was published in August, 2000.

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.

A native Georgian, red clay in my veins.  Born in Valdosta, GA, nurtured by a small-town ethos and strict farm-work discipline until age 18 in Colquitt, GA, from whence an escape was made to the University of Georgia, Athens, GA, where I obtained a BBA with a major in Real Estate and a minor in English Literature.

Marc A. Jolley (Ph.D.), an East Tennessee native, is the director (2003--present) of Mercer University Press where he has worked since 1995. He is the author of Safe at Home: A Memoir of God, Baseball, and Family (2005), and has edited two other collections. He is editing two books due out next year; one is a new edition of the "Walking" essays of Henry David Thoreau.

Mary T. Wagner is the author of Running with Stilettos and Heck on Heels, and a criminal prosecutor in Wisconsin. A former newspaper and magazine journalist, Wagner changed career horses in mid-stream by going to law school when she hit forty. A love of writing drew her back, however, and she started her website, www.runningwithstilettos.com, to showcase her slice-of-life essays.

Michael Dowling writes and illustrate children's books, many of which can be seen at www.UndertheLamb.com.

Michael Dowling, writer, earned an MBA from Columbia Graduate School of Business in New York City. He is the author of three published books, including Flip Along Fun and Boosting Your Pet's Self-Esteem. Mike also offers professional writing service. His website is MichaelJDowling.com

Mildred Huie Wilcox has been a patron of the arts ever since her days at UGA. In the 50's she was a fashion designer traveling between New York and Rome. As a resident of St. Simon's Island, Ms. Wilcox opened the Left Bank Art Gallery in 1964 and later, the Mildred Huie Museum at Mediterranean House.

Molly Read Woo graduated from UGA's Journalism School, worked as a newswriter, winning six Georgia Press Association Awards before working as a teacher and writer in Japan.

Returning stateside, Molly founded Planet Atlanta -a newspaper covering international communities in the city.

In 2006, Molly presented The Read Report, a documentary of security issues that helped