2011 AUTHORS AND ARTISANS
Barton, George
George Barton is currently retired - working part time. He has two daughters, three grandchildren, and a wife of 51 years. George served in the Navy from 1954 to 1958. He was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, traveled to California and currently resides in Bethany, Oklahoma.
Callaway, Linda
Linda Callaway taught public school for 30 years, and private school for 5 years. Although she has taught ages 4 to adult, her career was primarily teaching art to
students 5-12 years old. Linda has illustrated an English textbook, "Shirley Method English," and also illustrated a children's book, "What Happened to Grandpa's Hair?" She is currently writing and illustrating a book of silly verse. Linda says, "I really enjoy watching and guiding young artists in
creating art."
Marsha has been writing since high school but her first book, Texas Justice, wasn't completed and published until 2008. She has been hooked on writing ever since and continually tries to find ways to share her love of writing. The idea of the Eastern Oklahoma Authorfest came to her in early 2009. WIth less than ten friends to organize the 2009 AuthorFest, there were 20 authors gathered to share their love of books. The event raised $500 for school literacy programs and she hopes with the 2nd Annual AuthorFest in 2010, the amount will be doubled.
Coles, Raelea
Raelea is the daughter of Marsha Coles and she recently wrote her first book Why is There a Fair in my Hair? this past year. She is a nine year old student in Cherokee County and hopes that this is the first of many books.
Karen Coody Cooper has been a published author for 30 years with poetry, short stories, and professional writings appearing in journals, anthologies, and text books. Fault Line won 2010 Best Book of Poetry from the Oklahoma Writer's Federation, Inc.
Emerson, Judith
Judith has had three solo art exhibitions: New York City, Museum of the Southern Plains, Anadarko, and recently at the NSU gallery in Broken Arrow. She had a formal course of study in New York. She has worked for the National Museum of the American Indian, and is a registered member of the Cherokee Nation and was born in Tahlequah. The Myth Makers is her first historical novel and is currently working on a sequel.
Jacque Graham taught English and Composition for nearly 30 years. She has had poetry published in major publications and is working on a nonfiction novel about her husband's great-aunt, Belle Cobb, the first Indian woman doctor in Indian Territory. The title of the book will be Skeleton in the Attic.
Hamilton, Roy
Roy Hamilton is the founder of the Cherokee Arts and Humanities Council, a Cherokee genealogist, and author of Ned Christie, Cherokee Warrior and co-author of Cherokee Writers of the Flint Hills of Oklahoma anthology.
Harris-Wyrick, Wayne
Wayne Harris-Wyrick, director of the Kirkpatrick Planetarium, published numerous non-fiction articles, science fiction short stories, and even a few poems. Wayne is also an Honorary Life Member of Oklahoma Writer’s Federation (OWFI) and a member of INsight Paranormal, a group who hunts ghosts. Wayne has two grown children, and he and his wife, Rocksye, are raising two kids, three dogs, three cats, and two birds.
Hutson, Kim
Kim Hutson and his wife, Rhonda, live on Lake Tenkiller in eastern Oklahoma where they are both self-employed. Kim is a Laity Pastor at Hulber5t, Oklahoma United Methodist Church.
Joslin, Jess Devon
Joslin studied Communications and Hisoty. Merging her love of novels and history is a passion, with many more historical novels in the works. Upon discovering her own hidden Cherokee heritage, led to researching the Trail of Tears and the desire to write a novel about the experiences that were felt by those who walked, and by those who fought back.
Jim is a registered public speaker with the Oklahoma Library Association, so when he is not writing, he is usually speaking at junior high and high schools or libraries, or attending one of several writers conventions and book fairs each year. He is a member of the Tulsa NightWriters, a writing organization that has been helping writers get published for over 55-years. Along with the NightWriters, he is a member of the Oklahoma Writers Federation Inc.
Nuchols, Galand
Galand Nuchols, after twenty-two years in the classroom, retired to write short stories and novels for children and teenagers. Check out her novel Second Chance on her website www.secondchancebook.com. Mrs. Nuchols promotes her novels in schools through mini-writing workshops for 4th-6th grade students or author visits/book signings. Writing is one of several interests filling Mrs. Nuchols retirement years. She facilitates a parenting class, is involved in her local Habitat for Humanity Organization, teaches a Sunday school Class, and works with Northeast Texas Writers' Organization (www.netwo.org) promoting writing in her local community. Mrs. Nuchols and her husband have two grown children and one granddaughter. Today they fill their empty nest with two spoiled children and two demanding cats.
Sherrilyn and her husband have two children, both married and they have two granddaughters which they are very proud of. God has woven His love throughout their lives as well as protecting us and guiding us. Her book is published through Tate Publishing, a mainline publishing house dedicated to working with aspiring authors and giving their book its best chance in the marketplace. If you’ve ever thought about publishing a book, you should visit www.tatepublishing.com.
Roaix, Jim
Jim Roaix is both a three-dimensional, sculpting in stone & wood, and two-dimensional artist, with pastels being his preferred medium. A native New Englander, Jim recently retired to Tahlequah with his wife, Karen Coody Cooper, a Collinsville native currently employed at the Cherokee Heritage Center after retiring from the Smithsonian Institution in Washington,DC.
Schwab, Amanda
Sefton, Nikki
Stevens, Karrel
Tulsa native, Karrel Stevens, has been a visual artist for over 35 years. Beginning with the decorative arts and proceeding into fine art with both oils and acrylics, experimentation with watercolor evolved into her passion. The unpredictability of the pigment, water, and paper surface makes each piece fresh and exciting. Karrel says, “Studying contrasts – in nature, cultures, in textures, light and shadow, and the colors of emotion – keeps me challenged, stretching to accomplish new things.” Tahlequah is now home with her husband, Ben.
Ward, Tom
Tom Ward is a Native Oklahoman who has had nine books published, five of which are still in print.
Vivian Zabel always has had a vivid imagination and, when a child, used it to tell her siblings and friends stories. As soon as she could write, she began to put those stories on paper. She wrote her first poetry when she was eight, and still writes it. Poetry was and is her therapy. When a “friend” laughed at her announcement that she would write a book someday, Vivian didn’t share her goal any more, but she didn’t stop planning on writing that book.
As she reared her children and was a stay-at-home-mother, with spells of working in the business world, Vivian wrote short stories, poetry, and articles, which were published. Vivian taught English and writing for 27 years and retired in 2001. Every year she taught, she attended writing classes, workshops, and clinics, not only to learn how better to teach her students, but also to hone her own writing skills. Finally in 2001 she was able to write full time and write longer works, after she retired from teaching.
At present, Vivian has six books to her credit, two co-authored. Her latest books are Prairie Dog Cowboy (written under the name V. Gilbert Zabel), Midnight Hours (written under the name Vivian Gilbert Zabel), and Stolen, released in November 2010.
Her interests besides writing include her family (husband, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren), reading, helping other people publish their books (through 4RV Publishing), and traveling.
Links:
4RV Publishing http://4rvpublishingllc.com
Stolen http://Stolen.yolasite.com
As an editor for over thirty-five years, an English and writing teacher for nearly thirty years; an author with poetry, articles, short stories, and novels published over a span of forty-two years; and the head of a small publishing company for over three years, Vivian Zabel experienced both sides of the submission experience.
Her publishing company 4RV Publishing produced the Oklahoma Book Award winner in fiction for 2010: Confessions of a Former Rock Queen by Kirk Bjornsgaard. Other books have received regional awards in their categories. 4RV has released children’s books, middle grade and young adult books, novels, and nonfiction books.
Vivian has also received emails from rejected writers thanking her for sharing evaluation comments that help and some swearing at her for being so blind she can’t tell wonderful writing when she reads it.
*****************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Local Groups Attending
MUSKOGEE ARTS GUILD
The Muskogee Art Guild is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. Founded to serve the arts and education community in eastern Oklahoma, the Guild consists of over one hundred artists who work in all mediums. The month-long children's art camp teaches all facets of the art world to over one hundred area youth. The Guild also operates an art gallery at 315 Court Street in Muskogee, Oklahoma with operating hours from 10 AM to 4 PM, Tuesday thru Thursday and the second & fourth Saturdays. Another feature of the gallery is "Open Studio," when area artists are invited to drop in and pursue their passion for art alongside others of a like mind. Open Studio occurs during any hours the gallery is open.
CHEROKEE ARTS AND HUMANITIES COUNCIL
