Eleanor Rosalynn Carter was an American writer, activist, and humanitarian who served as the first lady of the United States from 1977 to 1981, as the wife of president Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States. Throughout her decades of public service she was a leading advocate for women's rights and mental health.
Roots: The Saga of an American Family is a 1976 novel written by Alex Haley. It tells the story of Kunta Kinte, an 18th-century Mandinka, captured as an adolescent, sold into slavery in Africa, and transported to North America. It explores his life and those of his descendants in the United States, down to Haley. The novel was quickly adapted as a hugely popular television miniseries, Roots (1977). Together, the novel and series were a cultural sensation in the United States. The novel spent forty-six weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list, including twenty-two weeks at number one.
Bessie Lillian Carter was an American nurse. Carter's son, Jimmy Carter, served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. She was also known for her contributions as a Peace Corps volunteer in India and for writing two books during her son’s presidency.
Anne Rivers Siddons was an American novelist who wrote stories set in the southern United States.
Nicole Ari Parker Kodjoe is an American actress and model. She made her screen debut with a leading role in the critically acclaimed independent film The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love (1995) and went on to appear in Boogie Nights (1997), directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.
The Hardy Boys: Undercover Brothers is a detective fiction series of books published by Aladdin Paperbacks, which replaced The Hardy Boys Digest paperbacks in early 2005. All the books in the series have been written under the pen name of Franklin W. Dixon.
Karin Slaughter is an American crime writer. She has written 24 novels, which have sold more than 40 million copies and have been published in 120 countries. Her first novel, Blindsighted (2001), was published in 27 languages and made the Crime Writers' Association's Dagger Award shortlist for "Best Thriller Debut" of 2001.
Michael Jan Friedman is a New York City born American author of nearly 60 books of fiction and nonfiction, more than half of which are in licensed tie-in products of the Star Trek franchise. Ten of his titles have appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list. Friedman has also written for network and cable television, radio, more than 150 comic books, most of them for DC Comics.
Anika Noni Rose is an American actress. She is best known for voicing Tiana, Disney's first African-American princess, in The Princess and the Frog (2009). She was named a Disney Legend in 2011.
Deb Caletti is an American writer of young adult and adult fiction. Caletti is a National Book Award finalist, and a Michael L. Printz Honor Book medalist, as well as the recipient of other numerous awards including the PEN USA finalist award, the Josette Frank Award for Fiction, the Washington State Book Award, and SLJ Best Book award. Caletti's books feature the Pacific Northwest, and her young adult work is popular for tackling difficult issues typically reserved for adult fiction. Her first adult fiction novel, He's Gone, was published by Random House in 2013, and was followed by several other books for adults, in addition to her many books for teens.
Emily Fisk Giffin is an American author of several novels, including Something Borrowed, Meant to Be, All We Ever Wanted, Heart of the Matter, and The One and Only.
Ally Carter is the pen name of Sarah Leigh Fogleman, an American author of young adult fiction and adult-fiction novels.
Jan Slaughter Jones is an American politician in Georgia. A Republican, she has been a member of the Georgia House of Representatives since 2003, and was acting Speaker of the House from November 2022 to January 2023 following the death of former Speaker David Ralston. Jones serves as Speaker pro tempore of the House, a position she has held continuously since 2010 with the exception of her brief stint as acting Speaker. She is the state representative for Georgia's 47th House district, which covers some of the northern Atlanta suburbs, including parts of Milton, Roswell, Alpharetta, Mountain Park, and unincorporated Cherokee County.
Deborah Scroggins is an American journalist and author. She heads the Research and Analysis Directorate, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction.
Ann Wood Waldron was an American author who initially focused on writing for children and young adults, then turned to biographies of authors from the South, and ultimately shifted in her late seventies to writing murder mysteries set at Princeton University.
Rebecca Ann Loebe is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer. She has performed and toured with such recording artists as Shawn Colvin, The Civil Wars, Gregory Alan Isakov, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Ellis Paul amongst others. In 2011 she made her international broadcast television debut on The Voice . In addition to being a solo singer she is a founding member of Austin-based band Nobody's Girl.
Amy Elizabeth Greene is an American novelist. Her debut novel, Bloodroot, was a national bestseller. Her second novel, Long Man, was published in March 2014. She is also a contributor to TheNew York Times among other publications.
Jenny Han is an American author, screenwriter, executive producer, and showrunner. She is best known for writing The Summer I Turned Pretty trilogy, which she adapted into a TV series for Prime Video. She also wrote the To All the Boys trilogy which was adapted into a Netflix film series.
Celestine Sibley was a famous American newspaper reporter, syndicated columnist, and novelist in Atlanta, Georgia, for nearly sixty years.
Lisa Drew is a retired editor who held top editorial positions at Doubleday, William Morrow and Company, and Scribner. Drew was an editor for Pulitzer Prize-winning Roots: The Saga of an American Family as well as numerous books by the Bush family. Other notable authors she edited include Helen Thomas, Nathan Miller, John E. Douglas, Bruce Henderson, Christine Brennan, and Geraldine Ferraro. At Scribner, Drew created her own imprint, A Lisa Drew Book.
Jan. 13, 2010 article "Good Fortune -- SCHS Grad and Harvard Freshman Releases Debut Novel" by Michael Boylan in The Triangle Tribune: http://triangletribune.com/index
