On April 4, 2007 the Texas Nature Writing Conference will bring together for the first time major Texas writers, editors, photographers, and experts in their field. This literary symposium is designed to reach out across multiple fields of study: creative writers, journalists, scientists, philosophers,and those studying community service and/or environmental policy.
For registration information, please see http://www.unt.edu/union/literaryweb.htm
Featured speakers include:
Wyman Meinzer has been a professional writer and photographer of Texana for twenty-five years. He is the author/photographer of eighteen books since 1993 and is currently completing five more. His photographs have graced the covers of over 200 magazines. He is the recipient of many awards including the 2003 Star of Texas. He is also a faculty member at Texas Tech University in the Dept. of Mass Communication.
Terrell Dixon is an Associate Professor at the University of Houston. He holds a Ph.D. in Education from Indiana University. His research interests are Literature & Environment/Geo-Fiction, Urban Nature, and Geo-Composition.
Char Miller: Professor Miller specializes in American environmental and urban history. He served as chair of the History Department of Trinity University from 1998 to 2004, and since 2001 has been Director of Urban Studies. He was named a Piper Professor for teaching excellence in 2002, and the Dr. and Mrs. Z. T. Scott Faculty Fellowship for Excellence in Teaching at Trinity University
Wendee Holtcamp founded San Jacinto Conservation Coalition in 2000, a group dedicated to smart growth and habitat conservation. Holtcamp earned a B.S. Magna Cum Laude and M.S. in Wildlife Ecology from Texas A&M. In 2001 she begun work toward her Ph.D. in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at Rice University and was awarded a NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. Holtcamp received her M.A. in Evolutionary Biology in 2005.
Marian Haddad, MFA, is a poet, essayist, visiting writer, manuscript consultant, and creative writing workshop instructor. Her poetry chapbook, Saturn Falling Down, was published at the request of Texas Public Radio in correlation with their Hands-On Poetry Workshops (2003); her full-length collection of poems, Somewhere between Mexico and a River Called Home (Pecan Grove Press 2004) is recommended by The Valparaiso Review and Small Press Review.
Joe Nick Patoski is the author and co-author Texas Mountains and Texas Coast, both published by University of Texas Press. A former staff writer for Texas Monthly magazine for 18 years, his byline appeared in the Texas Observer, No Depression, People magazine, Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine, Field & Stream, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, among many publications.
Carol Cullar, Southwest poet and author, presently serves as President of the Board and Executive Director of the Rio Bravo Nature Center Foundation, Inc. Her most recent publication is “Country Folks” (Langdon Review of the Arts in Texas, 2006). She now works full- time to enrich the ecological and conservation awareness of residents in South West Texas.
Gary Clark writes the weekly column “Nature” in the Houston Chronicle and writes feature articles in a variety of state and national magazines. His writing has been published in such magazines as Texas Highways, Texas Parks & Wildlife, and Texas Wildlife, and Women in the Outdoors. Gary wrote the text for the book, Texas Wildlife Portfolio (Farcountry Press, 2004) and Gulf Coast Impressions (Farcountry Press, 2007). He has won seven writing awards, and he is the recipient of the 2004 Excellence in Media Award from the Houston Audubon Society. Gary also co-leads nature and nature-photography tours with his wife, professional photographer Kathy Adams Clark.
Karen DeVinney has been managing editor at the University of North Texas Press since January 2000. Because UNT Press is a small operation, she is able as managing editor to do a little bit of everything, being involved directly in every aspect of the business except marketing and financial planning. She edits or supervises the editing of every book UNT publishes and acquires several books each season, including David Taylor's anthology, Pride of Place. Before working at UNT Press, she taught English composition and literature classes in area colleges and universities.
Pete A. Y. Gunter is past president of the Big Thicket Association and currently serves as Big Thicket Task Force Chairman of the Texas Committee on Natural Resources. He divides his time between writing on environmental issues, teaching philosophy, and writing about the relationship between philosophy and environmental ethics.
David Taylor teaches in the English Department at the University of North Texas in Denton. He has published poetry and creative non-fiction essays in such journals as ISLE, Southern Poetry Review, Environmental History, and Mountain Gazette. His latest publication is Pride of Place: A Contemporary Anthology of Texas Nature Writing. He was selected as a featured speaker for the 2006 Texas Book Festival.
Wyman Meinzer has been a professional writer and photographer of Texana for twenty-five years. He is the author/photographer of eighteen books since 1993 and is currently completing five more. His photographs have graced the covers of over 200 magazines. He is the recipient of many awards including the 2003 Star of Texas. He is also a faculty member at Texas Tech University in the Dept. of Mass Communication.
Terrell Dixon is an Associate Professor at the University of Houston. He holds a Ph.D. in Education from Indiana University. His research interests are Literature & Environment/Geo-Fiction, Urban Nature, and Geo-Composition.
Char Miller: Professor Miller specializes in American environmental and urban history. He served as chair of the History Department of Trinity University from 1998 to 2004, and since 2001 has been Director of Urban Studies. He was named a Piper Professor for teaching excellence in 2002, and the Dr. and Mrs. Z. T. Scott Faculty Fellowship for Excellence in Teaching at Trinity University
Wendee Holtcamp founded San Jacinto Conservation Coalition in 2000, a group dedicated to smart growth and habitat conservation. Holtcamp earned a B.S. Magna Cum Laude and M.S. in Wildlife Ecology from Texas A&M. In 2001 she begun work toward her Ph.D. in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at Rice University and was awarded a NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. Holtcamp received her M.A. in Evolutionary Biology in 2005.
Marian Haddad, MFA, is a poet, essayist, visiting writer, manuscript consultant, and creative writing workshop instructor. Her poetry chapbook, Saturn Falling Down, was published at the request of Texas Public Radio in correlation with their Hands-On Poetry Workshops (2003); her full-length collection of poems, Somewhere between Mexico and a River Called Home (Pecan Grove Press 2004) is recommended by The Valparaiso Review and Small Press Review.
Joe Nick Patoski is the author and co-author Texas Mountains and Texas Coast, both published by University of Texas Press. A former staff writer for Texas Monthly magazine for 18 years, his byline appeared in the Texas Observer, No Depression, People magazine, Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine, Field & Stream, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, among many publications.
Carol Cullar, Southwest poet and author, presently serves as President of the Board and Executive Director of the Rio Bravo Nature Center Foundation, Inc. Her most recent publication is “Country Folks” (Langdon Review of the Arts in Texas, 2006). She now works full- time to enrich the ecological and conservation awareness of residents in South West Texas.
Gary Clark writes the weekly column “Nature” in the Houston Chronicle and writes feature articles in a variety of state and national magazines. His writing has been published in such magazines as Texas Highways, Texas Parks & Wildlife, and Texas Wildlife, and Women in the Outdoors. Gary wrote the text for the book, Texas Wildlife Portfolio (Farcountry Press, 2004) and Gulf Coast Impressions (Farcountry Press, 2007). He has won seven writing awards, and he is the recipient of the 2004 Excellence in Media Award from the Houston Audubon Society. Gary also co-leads nature and nature-photography tours with his wife, professional photographer Kathy Adams Clark.
Karen DeVinney has been managing editor at the University of North Texas Press since January 2000. Because UNT Press is a small operation, she is able as managing editor to do a little bit of everything, being involved directly in every aspect of the business except marketing and financial planning. She edits or supervises the editing of every book UNT publishes and acquires several books each season, including David Taylor's anthology, Pride of Place. Before working at UNT Press, she taught English composition and literature classes in area colleges and universities.
Pete A. Y. Gunter is past president of the Big Thicket Association and currently serves as Big Thicket Task Force Chairman of the Texas Committee on Natural Resources. He divides his time between writing on environmental issues, teaching philosophy, and writing about the relationship between philosophy and environmental ethics.
David Taylor teaches in the English Department at the University of North Texas in Denton. He has published poetry and creative non-fiction essays in such journals as ISLE, Southern Poetry Review, Environmental History, and Mountain Gazette. His latest publication is Pride of Place: A Contemporary Anthology of Texas Nature Writing. He was selected as a featured speaker for the 2006 Texas Book Festival.