James Dickey (1923-1997) was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and attended Vanderbilt University. After the publication of his first book, Into the Stone, he began teaching and became poet-in-residence at the University of South Carolina. Dickey's third poetry volume, Buckdancer's Choice, won the National Book Award. He served as poetry consultant to the Library of Congress and read his poem "The Strength of Fields" at President Carter's inauguration. The Hollywood film of his novel Deliverance in 1970 brought Dickey fame not normally enjoyed by poets.
Ellen Douglas is the author of the novels A Family’s Affairs, Where the Dreams Cross, and Can’t Quit You, Baby. Her short story collections include Black Cloud, White Cloud, and Truth: Four Stories I Am Finally Old Enough to Tell, and her most recent work is Witnessing, a collection of essays. She has received two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Fellowship of Southern Writers’ first Hillsdale Prize for Fiction in 1989. In 2000, she received a literature award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Wilma Dykeman (1920-2006) was born in Asheville, North Carolina. Among her works of critical acclaim are The Tall Woman, The Far Family, Return the Innocent Earth, and Look to This Day. Dykeman's many honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship and the 1985 North Carolina Award for Literature. She also served for many years as State HIstorian of Tennessee.Clyde Edgerton is author of the novels Raney, Walking Across Egypt, The Floatplane Notebooks, Killer Diller, In Memory of Junior, Redeye: A Western, Where Trouble Sleeps, and Lunch at the Piccadilly. Awards include fellowships from the Guggenheim and Lyndhurst Foundations, five Notable Books of the Year from the New York Times, and the 1997 North Carolina Award for Literature. Edgerton teaches creative writing at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. His recently published a memoir, Solo: My Adventures in the Air.
Ralph Ellison (1914-1994) achieved international fame with his first novel, Invisible Man (1952). He attended Tuskegee Institute, intent upon pursuing a career in music; his readings in modern literature, however, interested him in writing. In 1936 he moved to New York City and became associated with the Federal Writers' Project, publishing short stories and articles in such magazines as New Challenge and New Masses.
