“MEET THE AUTHORS” RECEPTION – Thursday, April 30, 4 – 6 p.m.

Wayne Caldwell, an Asheville native and writer, published Cataloochee in 2007. This is a novel which tells the story of Ezra Banks, a resident of Cataloochee from the late 1800’s to the beginning of the National Park. He is now working on a sequel to Cataloochee titled Hearth Stones.

Noel C. Fisher received his Ph.D. in history from Ohio State University and has taught U.S. History at Ohio State University at Marion and Ohio Wesleyan University. He won the 1997 Peter Seaborg Award for best nonfiction book on the Civil War for War at Every Door. The Civil War in the Smokies is his account of the war in East Tennessee which may have been the most divided area of the Confederacy and where guerrilla warfare between Confederate and Union supporters was particularly fierce.

Ila Hatter is an interpretive naturalist, artist, storyteller, and wildcrafter with almost 30 years experience teaching the cultural heritage of native plants. She is the author of Roadside Rambles, a wild foods cookbook, and a video series, “Wild Edibles and Medicinals of Southern Appalachia” and “Mountain Kitchen.” Lisa Horstman, award-winning children’s author, lives and works in Knoxville. Her memorable stories and captivating illustrations have delighted children and their parents alike. Her books include The Great Smoky Mountain Salamander Ball and The Troublesome Cub.

Rose Houk, freelance writer and editor who specializes in natural history and archeology, has served as a guide and lecturer and has written numerous books about national parks and monuments. Her works on Great Smoky Mountains National Park include Exploring the Smokies, a guidebook to help visitors get the most out of their visit to the Park, and Great Smoky Mountains National Park: The Range of Life, a picturesque tour of the Park.

Kat and John LaFevre are residents of Gatlinburg who share a lifelong love of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Kat has performed volunteer work for the Park, and John is a business consultant and professional speaker. They are avid hikers and through their book, Scavenger Hike Adventures: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, they have found a creative and fun way to share their hiking adventures with kids and adults alike.

Donald W. Linzey, a zoologist and ecologist, is Professor of Biology at Wytheville Community College in Wytheville, Virginia. He is an authority on the mammals of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and its environs as he has studied the mammals of the region for over 40 years. His book, Mammals of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, was the first popular summary of information about the park’s mammals in nearly a quarter of a century. He recently completed A Natual History Guide: Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Charles Maynard, an ordained Methodist minister, popular speaker and former executive director of the Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, has written a number of children’s books and national park guidebooks including Waterfalls of the Smokies, Time Well Spent, a family hiking guide to the Smokies and Going to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, a picture-filled introduction to the area for the young and young at heart.

Joe Kelley began his 30-year NPS career at Great Smoky Mountains National Park. He retired as superintendent from Obed Wild and Scenic River in 1994. He co-wrote, The Meigs Line, an historical fiction about an older ranger who becomes lost while attempting to walk the Hawkins/Meigs survey line. The Meigs survey line in 1797 was the southern boundary of the United States.

Dwight McCarter worked as a Maintenance employee and a Park Ranger for Great Smoky Mountains National Park for 27 years. Recognized as an expert tracker, he has been involved in many searches in the Park, and in Lost, Mr. McCarter recounts many of these incidents and shares other accounts of search and rescue missions in the Smoky Mountains. Mr. McCarter also co-wrote Mayday! Mayday! , about plane crashes and associated search and rescue missions in the Park.His newest book, The Meigs Line, was co-authored with Joe Kelley.

Daniel S. Pierce teaches in the Department of History and the Humanities Program at the University of North Carolina, Asheville, and is a contributor to The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture. In The Great Smokies – From Natural Habitat to National Park, Mr. Pierce provides a comprehensive history of the impact of people on the landscape of the Smokies – from the hunting and gathering of prehistoric Indians to the air pollution and overuse by today’s visitors and neighbors.

Margaret Lynn Brown is assistant professor of history at Brevard College in North Carolina. Her work has appeared in “Southern Exposure” and “The Journal of Appalachian Studies.” In The Wild East, Ms. Brown explores the history and management of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Note: Authors have been invited to the Meet the Authors Reception and some are available only if schedule permits.