Festival Schedule

Tim Dorsey was born in Indiana, moved to Florida at the age of 1, and grew up in a small town about an hour north of Miami called Riviera Beach. He graduated from Auburn University in 1983. While at Auburn, he was editor of the student newspaper, The Plainsman. From 1983 to 1987, he was a police and courts reporter for The Alabama Journal, the now-defunct evening newspaper in Montgomery. He joined The Tampa Tribune in 1987 as a general assignment reporter. He also worked as a political reporter in the Tribune’s Tallahassee bureau and a copy desk editor. From 1994 to 1999, he was the Tribune’s night metro editor. He left the paper in August 1999 to write full time. Tim has since published twenty novels in several languages: Florida Roadkill, Hammerhead Ranch Motel, Orange Crush, Triggerfish Twist, The Stingray Shuffle, Cadillac Beach, Torpedo Juice, The Big Bamboo, Hurricane Punch, Atomic Lobster, Nuclear Jellyfish, Gator A-Go-Go, Electric Barracuda, When Elves Attack, Pineapple Grenade, The Riptide Ultra-Glide, Tiger Shrimp Tango, Shark Skin Suite, Coconut Cowboy and Clownfish Blues. He lives in Tampa.

Andre Frattino is a native of Florida, who balances his skills and trade across three areas: Storytelling, Education and the Paranormal. Since 2012, Andre has been publishing his ongoing Florida-based graphic novel series with Pineapple Press (to this date, Andre is the first and only graphic novelist published by the veteran publishers) which include the titles: The Reaper of St. George Street, Lost Souls of Savannah and most recently, The Vampirate of Matanzas Inlet. Andre is a graduate of both Savannah College of Art and Design (BFA, Sequential Art, 2009) and the University of Florida (MA, Art Education, 2013). Andre continues to write and illustrate for comics and children's books and has worked for a number of other clients including Award-Winning Author Shelley Fraser Mickle, The Marjorie Rawling's Foundation and Firehouse Subs. His latest book is a graphic novel interpretation of Rick Smith's A Land Remembered. When Andre is not hard at work on his next illustrative project, he can be found conducting ghost tours in Savannah, GA, where for the past 10 years, he's walked tourists through the darker parts of the city's history. His artwork can be found on his website.

Judy Lindquist is a long-time educator and writer. She has had two middle grades, historical fiction novels published. Saving Home, set in St. Augustine during the Siege of 1702, is on the recommended reading lists for several Florida school districts. Her latest book, Forcing Change, also set in St. Augustine, takes place during the Civil Rights struggles of 1963-64. Forcing Change earned the Florida Historical Society’s 2018 James J. Horgan Award for an outstanding publication that encourages the study of Florida history and heritage, intended for younger readers. Judy has been an Orange County classroom teacher for 24 years and an adjunct professor at the University of Central Florida for 10 years. When not teaching or writing, Judy enjoys cooking, gardening, spending time with her granddaughter, and traveling with her husband.

Larry Loftis is the international bestselling author of the nonfiction spy thriller, Into the Lion's Mouth: The True Story of Dusko Popov—World War II Spy, Patriot, and the Real-Life Inspiration for James Bond (Penguin Random House/Dutton Caliber), which has been translated into Portuguese, Dutch, Chinese, Serbian, and Czech. His second nonfiction espionage thriller, Into the Light, will be published by Simon & Schuster (Gallery) January 15, 2019. Prior to becoming a full-time writer, Mr. Loftis was a corporate attorney, publishing scholarly legal articles in the University of Florida Law Review, Suffolk Transnational Law Journal, Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law, Florida Bar Journal, National Law Journal, and Florida Banking. He has also served as a Teaching Fellow at the University of Florida Law School, and as an adjunct professor of law at Belhaven University.

Sharon Scholl is a retired college humanities professor. She has had two published non-fiction books, Music and Culture, and Death and the Humanities. A poetry collection, Timescape, and two chapbooks, Summer's Child and Eat Space are in circulation. She is an associate with the Atlantic Center for the Arts.

Ashley Lear's latest book is The Remarkable Kinship of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and Ellen Glasgow.

DANIEL L. SCHAFER Professor of History emeritus, and University Distinguished Professor, University of North Florida. Dr. Schafer was a history teacher in Minnesota secondary schools for four years, at the University of Minnesota for seven years, and the University of North Florida for thirty-five years. Since retirement in December, 2007, Dr. Schafer's biography includes BOOKS Anna Madgigine Jai Kingsley: African Princess; Florida Slave (revised and expanded edition, University Press of Florida, 2018) Florida British Heritage Trail (Tallahassee: Florida Association of Museum, 2014, with Fred Gaske) Zephaniah Kingsley Jr. and the Atlantic World: Slave Trader, Plantation Owner, Emancipator, (University Press of Florida, 2013) William Bartram and the Ghost Plantations of British East Florida (University Press of Florida, 2010) Thunder on the River: The Civil War in Northeast Florida (University Press of Florida, 2010) BOOK CHAPTERS "Raids, Sieges, and International Wars," in Michael Gannon, editor, The History of Florida (University Press of Florida, 2013) "British Rule in the Floridas," in Michael Gannon, editor, The History of Florida (University Press of Florida, 2013, with Robin F. A. Fabel) "U.S. Territory and State," in Michael Gannon, editor, The History of Florida (University Press of Florida, 2013) “An Overview of the Life of Zephaniah Kingsley, Jr., and Anta Majigeen Njaay Kingsley (Anna Kingsley),” in Kingsley Plantation: A Companion Guide (Eastern National: The National Park Service, 2009) "William Elliott, Stobbs Farm at Mosquito Lagoon, and the Elliott Sugar Plantation at Indian River," contributed to Canaveral National Seashore Historic Resource Study (Cultural Resources Division Southeast Regional Office, National Park Service: Atlanta, Ga., September, 2008) WORK IN PROGRESS Dr. Andrew Turnbull and the Mediterranean Community at New Smyrna, British East Florida, 1766-1777. AWARDS AND HONORS Charlton Tebeau Award, Florida Historical Society, 2014, recognizing Zephaniah Kingsley Jr. and the Atlantic World: Slave Trader, Plantation Owner, Emancipator Stetson Kennedy Award, Florida Historical Society, 2014, recognizing Zephaniah Kingsley Jr. and the Atlantic World: Slave Trader, Plantation Owner, Emancipator Florida Book Awards, 2014, Silver Medal, Florida Nonfiction, recognizing Zephaniah Kingsley Jr. and the Atlantic World: Slave Trader, Plantation Owner, Emancipator Historic Preservation Award, 2015, City of Jacksonville, Jacksonville Historic Preservation Commission, for publication of Zephaniah Kingsley Jr. and the Atlantic World: Slave Trader, Plantation Owner, Emancipator Historic Preservation Award, 2010, City of Jacksonville, Jacksonville Historic Preservation Commission, for publication of Thunder on the River: The Civil War in Northeast Florida

Robert N. Macomber is an award-winning writer, internationally acclaimed lecturer, and an accomplished seaman. Macomber is a Florida success story, and his work is admired across the globe. He tantalizes audiences with historical facts and literary lore. When he's not writing, researching or on one of his extensive journeys, Mr. Macomber lives on Pine Island, on the same SW Florida coast where he grew up. For relaxation, he enjoys sailing among the more remote islands near his home and cooking the exotic cuisines from his novels. Robert N. Macomber’s popular maritime thrillers describe the life and career of a U.S. naval officer, from the Civil War in Florida to the years beyond the Spanish-American War in 1898. Through this Honor Series, Mr. Macomber illuminates significant events of world history, which have served as the foundation for the world as we know it today. An Honorable War is the 13th installment. It and the earlier books convey the real stories and complex qualities of human nature, cloaked in the nuances of the late 19th century. The suspense, romance and compelling strategies reflect not only the trials and triumphs civilians face during wartime, but also the harrowing decisions and sacrifices of those in the military who wrestle with life’s everyday challenges. Inspired by actual events, these page-turners help us live history and remember truths which should never be forgotten. Each reader feels the powerful, you-are-there impact. In April of 2018, Macomber won the Silver Medal in Popular Fiction from the Florida Book Awards for An Honorable War. Over the years, Macomber has been the recipient of the Patrick D. Smith Literary Award and the American Library Association’s W.Y. Boyd Literary Award, to name a few. The next, long-awaited novel is due to release in March of 2019, titled Honoring The Enemy.

Laura Lee Smith is the author of the novels The Ice House (Grove Press 2017) and Heart of Palm (Grove Press 2013). Her short fiction has been anthologized in Best American Short Stories (2015) and New Stories from the South: The Year’s Best (2010). Smith’s recent work has appeared in The New York Times, and her second novel was recently awarded the Gold Medal for Fiction in the 2017 Florida Book Awards. A writer who’s been praised for her “intelligence, heart, and wit” (Richard Russo, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Empire Falls), Smith’s work has been translated into German and French. She lives in Florida, where she writes fiction and works as an advertising copywriter. www.lauraleesmith.com

Cathy Salustri is the Arts & Entertainment editor at Creative Loafing. Her portfolio includes USA Today, Visit Florida, regional, and local press. In 2016, UPF published Backroads of Paradise, a travel narrative about retracing the WPA-era Florida driving tours, which was featured in The New York Times. Cathy speaks at Eckerd College’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI), is president of the Gulfport Historical Society and runs a Pinellas National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) group. Her non-writing resume includes Walt Disney World tour guide, banner plane ground crew, kayak guide, sailboat mate and stage manager. She lives in Gulfport with her fiancé Barry, two hounds, two cats (who may or may not have a sugar addiction) and, most likely, a frog the cats brought in as a present no one has discovered yet. Find Cathy at cathysalustri@icloud.com, cathysalustri.com or on various social media platforms as @cathysalustri.

Mark Woods is the author of “Lassoing the Sun: A Year in America’s National Parks.” (Thomas Dunne Books, June 2016). Woods has been Metro columnist at the Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville, Fla., since 2003. Before that he spent 20 years as a sportswriter at newspapers in Florida, Kentucky, Missouri and Indiana. He covered the earthquake in Haiti, Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, political conventions, Olympics, Wimbledon, the Masters, the World Cup and 11 Super Bowls – but he says none of those assignments compare with what he did in 2012, a year that led to “Lassoing the Sun: A Year in America’s National Parks.” Each year the Society of Professional Journalists awards the Eugene C. Pulliam Fellowship to one writer in America. Woods won the fellowship in 2011 for a project built around the National Park Service celebrating its centennial in 2016 and the question: What is the future of our parks? The fellowship allowed Woods to devote the following year to his plan — explore one park a month, each symbolizing a different issue for the future, from rising seas to fading night skies. “Lassoing the Sun” is about the journey that started with a sunrise in Maine, finished with a sunset in Hawaii and had a life-changing event in the middle: his mother’s death. “Lassoing the Sun” was awarded the Gold Medal for general non-fiction in the 2016 Florida Book Awards.

James O. Born is a former U.S. Drug agent and State Law Enforcement agent. He has had more than 15 novels published. His third novel, Escape Clause, won the inaugural Florida Book Award for Best Novel. He was introduced to writing by Elmore Leonard, whom Born gave technical advice for 20 years. He has shared an editor with Tom Clancy and WEB Griffin, two of his favorite authors. The past few years, Born has worked with James Patterson on a number of different projects. Their novel Haunted spent 7 weeks on the New York Times bestsellers list. Born has made appearances on a numerous TV shows, offering insights on crime, investigations as well as writing. He continues to work full time as a writer and contributor on books, TV shows and movies.

Julie Hauserman is Editor-in-chief of The Florida Phoenix, a free online state news bureau based in Tallahassee, She has been writing about Florida for more than 30 years. She is a former Capitol bureau reporter for the St. Petersburg (Tampa Bay) Times, and reported for The Stuart News and the Tallahassee Democrat. She was a national commentator for National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition Sunday and The Splendid Table. She has won many awards, including two nominations for the Pulitzer Prize. Her work is featured in several Florida anthologies, including The Wild Heart of Florida, The Book of the Everglades, and Between Two Rivers.

In 2018, the St. Johns County Public Library System presented “The Living Library” at the Crisp Ellert Art Museum. This event provided “human books” to speak with participants on a wide variety of topics. This morning’s program will be a panel discussion with three of the human books, plus Library Extension Services Manager Harold George. The discussion will cover the experiences of the Living Library event, plus the greater benefit of Library and Community Partnerships. Panelists: Ervin Bullock, Dilara Hafiz, and Ted Voorhees.