Panelists
2016-2017 Literature

September 11, 2015
9:00 AM - to conclusion
Teleconference (How to participate)

Chair: Sandy Shaughnessy
Program Manager: Sarah Stage

Lee Baird

Nashville, Tenneseee

• Grants Analyst/Director of Literary Arts, Tennessee Arts Commission, Nashville, Tennessee
• Previously worked in the wireless communications industry
• B.A., Psychology, University of Tennessee at Knoxville

Kaye Byrnes

St. Johns County

• Director, Florida Storytelling Festival
• Past President and Board member, Florida Storytelling Association.
• Professional storyteller, focusing on fairy tales, fables, myths, legends, original takes, and classic literature
• Selected venues: Ritz Carlton at Amelia Island, Limelight Theater, Florida StoryFest, Florida Folk Festival, Alachua County Storytelling Festival, Ocala Storytelling Festival, Cracker Storytelling Festival, Northeast Florida Library Information Network, Tampa Bay Library Consortium, Panhandle Library Access Network, Southwest Florida Library Information Network, Florida Association for Media in Education, Florida Library Association
• B.F.A., Theatre, University of Wisconsin

Paola Fernandez Rana

Miami-Dade County

• Program Manager and Author Liaison, Miami Book Fair, Miami Dade College, Miami, Florida
• Previously Director of Publicity at several publishing houses and created marketing and public relations strategies for a wide range of high profile authors
• B.A., Communications and Political Science, University of New Hampshire

John Fink

Escambia County

• Associate Professor and Director of Creative Writing, University of West Florida
• Editor, Panhandler Magazine and PanhandlerBooks
• Poems and essays published in Poetry, New England Review, TriQuarterly, Slate, Witness, The Southern Review, and Virginia Quarterly Review, among other publications 
• Recipient of the Editors’ Prize in Poetry from The Missouri Review, the McGinnis-Ritchie Award for Nonfiction/Essay from Southwest Review, and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs, and Emory University, among other institutions
• Two books of poetry forthcoming from Dzanc Books
• M.F.A., Syracuse University; B.A., Trinity University

John Fleming

Hillsborough County

• Professor, University of South Florida
• Author of The Legend of the Barefoot Mailman, a novel, Fearsome Creatures of Florida, an eco-conscious literary bestiary, The Book I Will Write, a novel-in-emails originally published serially, and Songs for the Deaf, his recent story collection
• Received Literature Fellowship, Florida Division of Cultural Affairs
• Ph.D., University of Louisiana-Lafayette; M.A., Creative Writing, The University of Southern Mississippi; B.A., Psychology, The University of Virginia

Lamar Garnes

Leon County

• Assistant Professor, Florida A & M University, Tallahassee, Florida
• Writes about African American literature and Popular Culture as well as fiction
• Previously, Instructor, Florida State University and Volunteer for Tallahassee Council on Culture and Arts
• B.A., Creative Writing, University of South Florida; Ph.D., English Language and Literature, Florida State University 

Virgil Suarez

Leon County

• Professor, Creative Writing, Florida State University
• Author of over twenty books, among them several novels, story and poetry collections, edited anthologies, and numerous stories, translations, essays, and poems
• Conducted readings, workshops, and lectures in many universities, colleges, schools, book fairs, libraries, prisons, and community groups nationally and internationally.
• M.F.A., Creative Writing, Louisiana State University