Authors Guild of Tennessee

Next Meeting

On Thursday, April 3, 2025, the Authors Guild of Tennessee will meet at the Faith Lutheran Church in Farragut from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Our featured speaker will be AGT member Kathy Parr. Her talk will be on Writing Historical Fiction.

Kathy taught writing at the University of Illinois-Chicago where she taught First-Year Composition, Media and Professional Writing, and Grammar. In 2021, she and her husband moved to Tellico Village, where she joined the Authors Guild of Tennessee.

Katherine’s historical novel, Eva of the Nation, arose from her dissertation on Eva O’Doherty, a poetess and essayist for Dublin’s literary newspaper. Eva’s writing denounced colonial practices at the time of the Irish famine, joining the Young Ireland group. Eva met and fell in love with another member of Young Ireland who was sent to prison.

Katherine also published a book on writing, Grammar and Style: Navigating the Bewildering World of Writing. Recently, she published a children’s book about her West Highland Terrier, Charlie Bear. She writes as Katherine Kirby Smith (K.K. Smith).

Jeri Weems

featured as an Inspiration on Knoxville Voyager

Knoxville Voyager is an online magazine, part of the LA-based Voyage Group of Magazines. Their stated mission is “to promote mom and pops, artists, creatives, makers, and small businesses.”

AGT member, Jeri Weems, is featured as being an ‘Inspiration’ in the March 27th edition. The article focuses on her work as a volunteer in a farm sanctuary in Michigan ten years ago, where she tended to abused, abandoned, and neglected farm animals. In her work, she discovered how intelligent they are and how capable they are of having strong feelings. Writing as Elizabeth Stiles, Jeri has recently released her book, Safe Haven — Where Hope Lives  that highlights the emotional lives of animals.

Here is the link to the online article: https://knoxvillevoyager.com/interview/daily-inspiration-meet-jeri-weems

Sales Tax for Tennessee Authors

Laura presented Tennessee laws regarding sales tax at events and also touched on Federal taxes and what we should include in our Schedule C filings.

Dr. David Page

New Member of AGT Member

David Page holds a Doctorate of Philosophy in Electrical Engineering from the University of Tennessee and works as a research scientist in the Knoxville area. He has also received a Bachelor’s and Master of Science degrees from Tennessee Technological University (TTU).

David is an “engi-nerd” by training and a political junky by birth. David has never held public office, but he has been active in politics since age ten.

In his career, David has a research background in 3D computer vision and is the author or co-author of over 50 refereed technical articles in international journals and conferences with over 2,600 citations. He is an inventor with a patent in 3D holographic displays and has served as a key partner in a technology startup company that unfortunately failed.

David lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, with his wife, Lisa, and their daughter, Grace. “The Art of the Compromise” is David’s first nonfiction book, and Grace likes to tell folks, “My dad has written hundreds of books on a plethora of topics, but this one is the first he has ever finished.”

New Release by Leoma Gilley

In 1989, linguist Leoma Gilley and her colleague Janice moved to Khartoum – the world’s hottest capital – to improve the Shilluk writing system. Linguists have struggled since 1912 to develop an adequate writing system for the Shilluk people of southern Sudan. This language issue helped spark a 21-year civil war, driving many Shilluks to seek refuge in Khartoum, Sudan’s capital. Moving on from her first adventure in Launching into the Unknown, Leoma continues on in Sudan’ s capital, each day bringing a new challenge or celebration, including: bureaucratic red tape, successful workshops, cultural misunderstandings, enjoying unexpected friendships over plates of fuul, swirling dust storms, finding humor in the challenge of keeping electronics sand-free, and blistering heat. Will they convince the Shilluk people to embrace a new spelling system? Can they overcome government restrictions to continue their vital work?

New Release by Art Stewart

A serious-humorous take on those pesky, nasty-tempered insects that can sting you “out the Ying Yang”– and some factual information that might help prevent them from doing that to you.

Art Stewart is an aquatic ecologist, science educator, essayist and poet. In addition to authoring scientific articles and technical reports, his poetry has been published in various anthologies and a dozen different journals, including Eclectic Literary Forum, New Millennium Writings, Lullwater Review, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

                                                  David Johnston

                                                New Member of AGT

David spent most of his professional life as a general manager of Marriott hotels, taking him across the country to live in every regional area of the U.S. except the PNW. In addition to the hotel work, David owned and operated a family lake resort in Minnesota for eight years. The opportunity to live in so many places afforded David the chance to pursue his love of nature. He has spent a lifetime exploring the world of forests and mountain life, both physically and spiritually. Having hiked throughout the U.S. and Europe, David most enjoys time spent in the mountains of East Tennessee.

At home with his wife, Maria, there are many chores associated with country life, ably assisted by their two beagles, Susie and Hank. Hikes on the mountain where they live are a regular pastime and destination trips for big hikes happen once or twice each year.

David is currently working on his certification as a forest therapy coach, looking forward to helping others connect to the wonders of nature.

Elizabeth Stiles (Jeri Weems)

 New Member of AGT Publishes her First Book

Elizabeth Stiles (Jeri Weems) is a retired teacher, avid reader, mother of hounds, and lover of all creatures great and small. She caught the writing bug in 4th grade when her teacher helped her publish Fin, her first picture book. Even though its pages were blue construction paper, the book was filled with her words and illustrations, igniting her passion for writing.

She has recently launched her debut novel, Safe Haven – Where Hope Lives about a young girl who has extraordinary abilities to communicate with animals. While she stuggles with one mysterious illness after another, her father must face his greatest fear to safeguard his daughter, whose innocence and talent have forever altered his life.

Jim Johnston

New Member of AGT

James B. Johnston was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland and educated at Grosvenor High, Belfast, and Trinity College, Dublin. He immigrated to Canada in 1974 and moved to the United States in 1984.

He currently resides in Knoxville, Tennessee with his wife, Ann. The Price of Peace is Johnston’s debut novel. His collection of poems, Exile: Poems of an Irish Immigrant, was published in 1997 and has been reissued in a revised and expanded edition, Exile Revisited.

Meet Chuck Roseberry

New Member of AGT

Chuck Roseberry is our first new member for 2025. Chuck began his writing career at age fifteen when he sold an article to a local newspaper in his hometown of Beaverton, Oregon. At Chapman University in Southern California, he worked as a sportswriter covering high school sports for the Orange County Register. Chuck transferred and graduated from the University of Oregon, where he worked on his first feature film in his senior year. From there, he moved to Hollywood and made a career working in the art department of feature films, including the iconic Thelma and Louise, Wayne’s World, Weekend at Bernie’s, and one of the biggest box office bombs in cinematic history, Howard the Duck. 

His first fiction novel is The Right Date which reflects his love for high school sports.

‘Smoking Guns,’ edited by Kaye George,

delivers tales of murder and more

Featured in the Books sections of the Knoxville News Sentinel on Sunday Dec. 8, this anthology from the East Tennessee Sisters in Crime offers a dozen “original tales of crime and mystery” that take readers into the dark corners of humanity.

The writers, with backgrounds ranging from newsrooms to the CIA to underwater naturalist education, share sinister stories of murderm poisoning, theft, stalking, and violent jealousy.

One of the columnist’s favorites is “Fences, Neighbors, and a Gun” by Kaye George intrigued him with its domestic depravity. In the story a tree falls on an elderly woman’s yard leading to a dispute over the cost of the damage that escalates to a chilling level. The story ends up in court, but even the judge’s ruling doesn’t end the matter that leads to neighbors retaliating against one another in unexpected ways.

Creative Writing Contest

Lenoir City High School

First Semester 2024- 2025

 Angela Crabtree, teacher of the junior/senior writing classes at Lenoir City High School has released the first semester winning short stories in the Creative Writing Contest sponsored by the Authors Guild of Tennessee. Ms. Crabtree explains that the students were allowed to submt their favorite short story from those had written in various fiction genres. The students had researched and written about superstitions, zombie apocalypse, modern monsters, as well as historical, comedic, fairytales and folktales.

The first-and second-place winners in Ms. Crabtree’s two classes are linked under this notice.  Three have a dark tone and one is inspirational. All are well-written and worthy of their awards.

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ui=2&ik=5bd369cc01&attid=0.1&permmsgid=msg-f:1816091235841622506&th=19340d5b600a41ea&view=att&disp=inline&realattid=f_m3nfzjtw0&zw

Victoria Winifred’s New Releases

When their winter sleep is interrupted by hunger on Christmas Eve, Papa Jed and his family let the North Star guide them on a magical journey through the Smoky Mountains. Alongside creatures of all kinds, they meet and learn about legendary bears and a special human whose story fills their hearts with wonder. After sharing a feast with their forest friends, they return to their den with a deeper sense of community, the true spirit of Christmas, and renewed hope for the future, thanks to the timeless tale of a baby born in a manger.

In the spirit of timeless read-alouds like An Angel for Solomon Singer, Miss Rumphius,    and Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch, this heartwarming Valentine’s Day picture book  is a thoughtful choice for classrooms, nurturing the traits of respect, empathy, and kindness.

Immerse  yourself in one of the Bible’s most renowned stories with this beautifully illustrated book.  Each page features vivid artwork that brings Joe Guadagno’s dynamic song, Jonah, to life.  The lyrics, which form the heart of this captivating picture book, are brought to life through striking images of Jonah and the whale, capturing the essence of the wayward journey and the redemptive return.

Ideal for family reading, Sunday school classes, and anyone interested in biblical narratives, this book integrates the actual verses of Jonah and includes a QR code that allows readers to listen to the song for a fully immersive experience.

Gayle Curtin’s New Release

Gayle’s second book is a personal memoir titled Wiser Now. 

Gayle is cash-strapped, lonely, and becoming desperate when she answers a personal ad in the local newspaper. During the short courtship with Jake, Gayle sees differences in their respective lifestyles and values but sets her concerns aside. During their two-year relationship, she has to deal with a controlling spouse, infidelity, emotional abuse, and encounters with alcohol-fueled rage.

Amazon reviewer wrote, in part, “The author’s writing style is engaging, authentic, and keeps the reader in anxious anticipation of the next chapter.”

Creative Writing Contest

Lenoir City High School

2nd Semester 2023-24

In the second semester of the 2023-4 school year, Angela Crabtree, teacher of the junior/senior writing classes at Lenoir City High School, selected poetry as the literary form for the Creative Writing Contest sponsored by the Authors Guild of Tennessee.

The first- and second-place winners in Ms. Crabtree’s two classes are linked under this notice. Again, the students were not assigned particular subjects but were encouraged to write from their personal experiences and viewpoints. The poems are honest and personal and sometimes reflect harsh realities in each student’s life. They are all well-written and create word pictures of place and time.

The Authors Guild of Tennessee is proud to publish these outstanding literary accomplishments on our website with parental consent for students who are minors.