Memphian Pat Morgan has made it her mission to work on behalf of the homeless both locally and nationally, and she wrote about that mission in The Concrete Killing Fields: One Woman’s Battle To Break the Cycle of Homelessness, published in early 2014.
In that book, Morgan described her days directing the Calvary Street Ministry in downtown Memphis. She wrote about her government work in Washington, D.C. But she also wrote engagingly about her difficult past and need for personal healing, both of which she handled with candor and surprising humor. The Flyer was impressed. Others have been impressed.
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Morgan’s book has received a bronze medal for autobiography/memoir from Foreword Reviews’ INDIEFAB 2014 Book of the Year Awards; a bronze medal in the category of current events/social issues from Independent Publisher’s 2015 IPPY National Book of the Year Awards; and a second-place finish in the category of biography/autobiography from the National Federation of Press Women’s 2015 National Awards.
Local writers wanting to pen their memoirs might want to be on hand for the Mid-South Book Festival’s Writers Conference on September 13th. That’s when one of the festival’s participating authors, Neil White — author of the 2009 autobiography In the Sanctuary of Outcasts — will be addressing the topic “Writing a Memoir.”
In July, Variety announced that White’s book is being developed into a movie. And if screenwriting is your thing, Chris McCoy (film editor at the Flyer) will also be on hand for one of the conference’s many “breakout sessions.”
The conference will be at Playhouse on the Square and is open to writers 18 and older. Cost to register is $20 (scholarships available based on need). For more on the Mid-South Book Festival, go to midsouthbookfest.org.
Writers 12-17 years of age, you’ve got a conference too — a Student Writers Conference. Same date: September 13th. Different venue: Circuit Playhouse. Same topic during one of the breakout sessions: autobiography, which Lonette Robinson will be discussing in her talk titled “Writing Home: Memoirs.” Cost to register for students is $10 (scholarships also available based on need).
Questions about either conference? Contact Kevin Dean, executive director of Literacy Mid-South, at Kdean@literacymidsouth.org. •
