Panelists
2017-2018 Literature

September 9, 2016
9:00 AM - to conclusion
Teleconference (How to participate)

Chair: Brenda Shoffner
Program Manager: Michelle Smith Grindberg

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

Leon County

Chief of Staff, Tallahassee Community College, Tallahassee, Florida
Scott works closely with the College’s President, Executive Team and Board of Trustees, and serves as an extension of the President in efforts to support the needs of citizens in the Greater Tallahassee community, area businesses, state and local government, education and non-profits.
Tallahassee Community College Liaison, Word of South Music and Literary Festival, Tallahassee, Florida
B.S., M.E.S.S., University of Florida; Ed.D., Florida State University

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

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

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

Pinellas County

Florida’s Poet Laureate, named by Governor Rick Scott, June 2015
Peter has received many national awards, including 2 NEA Fellowships, a Fulbright Professorship, and 3 awards from the Poetry Society of America.
Received the SunLit Festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award for “his outstanding contribution to Letters.”
Recent publications include: The Elf Poem, Lucky Bones, Lines from Neuchâtel, and soon to be released The Expert Witness: New & Selected Stories.
B.A. Hamilton College; M.A., U. of Michigan; Ph. D. in Literature, U. of Minnesota

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