Birth City

Johnson City

Birth State

NY

Current Location

El Paso County, CO

Email (Public)

Author's Website

Occupation(s)

Freelance journalist and author

Biography

Alli Carter Close is a freelance journalist who lives in the shadow of Pikes Peak. She lives with her husband, two children and four dogs.

Awards/Honors

Local Authors Genres

Published Works

Published Works Book Jackets

Speaker Availability

Yes

Speaker Topics

The history of the Ute in Colorado

Pseudonym

JoRayma C

Birth City

Nuernberg, Germany

Current Location

Colorado Springs, CO

Email (Public)

Occupation(s)

Writer - Journalist - English professor - Seminar leader

Biography

A writer, seminar leader, and former English professor, Durthy A. Washington has taught graduate, undergraduate, and adult education courses at several colleges and universities including The Colorado College, UCCS, and the US Air Force Academy. Durthy is the founder of LitUnlocked, which offers workshops and seminars dedicated to the art of mindful, culturally responsive reading. Each workshop centers on the LIST Paradigm, an innovative approach to critical reading that helps readers unlock the power of literature with four keys to culture: Language, Identity, Space, and Time.

Awards/Honors

Education/Training

MA English, San Jose State University - MS Education, University of Southern California, Los Angeles - BA English, San Diego State University

Local Authors Genres

Published Works

Published Works Book Jackets

Interviews

Organizations

The Toni Morrison Society - PILLAR Institute for Lifelong Learning - Pikes Peak Library District Adult Reading Program (Facilitator) - Friends of the Pikes Peak Library - Educating Children of Color Conference - African American Youth Leadership Conference

Speaker Availability

Yes

Speaker Topics

Culturally Responsive Reading - Culturally Responsive Teaching - African American Literature - Approaches to Teaching Literature - Writing Memoir and Autobiography

Birth City

Boulder

Birth State

CO

Current Location

Boulder, CO

Email (Public)

Author's Website

Occupation(s)

Children's Author

Biography

Award-winning Children's Author, Elaine Pease, has three picture books, a middle grade novel GHOST OVER BOULDER CREEK, the journey of a half-Cheyenne boy as he searches for his white father with Buffalo Bill in 1860s Colorado, and her most recent: an easy reader chapter book based on the true heart-warming stories at Colorado Horse Rescue, SAFE AT LAST.

Awards/Honors

Education/Training

SDSU B.S. Journalism

Local Authors Genres

Published Works

Published Works Book Jackets

Interviews

Organizations

RMSCSBWI - RMFW

Speaker Availability

Yes

Speaker Topics

I've spoken about or conducted workshops on topics such as self-publishing vs. traditional publishing (having equal exposure to both in my career), researching and writing the historical mystery middle grade novel ("Dust to
Dust Jackets" panel at Barnes & Noble), and writing and finding the right publisher for your picture book.

Pseudonym

Angela Raines

Birth City

Carthage

Birth State

IL

Current Location

Colorado Springs, CO

Email (Public)

Occupation(s)

Author

Biography

Doris McCraw,writing fiction as Angela Raines, is an Author, Speaker, Historian specializing in Colorado and Women's History. Born and raised in West Central Illinois, she grew up on history. She likes to say it's in her DNA. After moving to Colorado, Doris spent many a day traveling the state, soaking up the history. She has presented at three of the Pikes Peak Library District's History Symposia. She writes non-fiction and poetry under her own name and historical fiction under her pen name. Doris as also worked as an actor along with teaching the subject. In her spare time she has taught music, speech and writing workshops.

Local Authors Genres

Speaker Availability

Yes

Birth Year (-Died Year)

1986

Birth City

Janesville

Birth State

WI

Current Location

Colorado Springs, CO

Email (Public)

Occupation(s)

Editor and copywriter

Biography

Ashley Eiman is a professional editor and writer living in Colorado. She loves Downton Abbey, country music, and all things Jane Austen.

Education/Training

Bachelor of Arts in English, 2008, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs

Local Authors Genres

Published Works

Published Works Book Jackets

Speaker Availability

Yes

Speaker Topics

Glen Eyrie - General Palmer and family

Current Location

El Paso County, CO

Author's Website

Occupation(s)

Retired El Paso County sheriff - Historian and writer

Biography

John Wesley Anderson, MBA, is a published author, storyteller, and TEDx speaker. He enjoyed a 30-year law enforcement career, retiring at the rank of sergeant after 22 years with the Colorado Springs Police Department, followed by 8 years serving as the elected sheriff for El Paso County, Colorado. After being term-limited as Sheriff, John retired from public safety and was employed in homeland and corporate security for ten years in the private sector. He retired from the Lockheed Martin Corporation in 2012 to launch a consulting business allowing him the freedom to pursue his love of history, writing and the arts. In 2022 John was honored to receive the Golden Quill Award from the Friends of the Pikes Peak Library District. Although John has traveled around the world, including several adventures on a catamaran sailing the Caribbean, three corporate security assignments into a combat zone on the Horn of Africa and landing on an aircraft carrier at sea in the Pacific Ocean, he remains most fascinated by the rich history and art discovered in his own backyard in the American Southwest.

Awards/Honors

Local Authors Genres

Published Works

Published Works Book Jackets

Speaker Availability

Yes

Speaker Topics

John is available to give presentations on his books or short talks for book clubs (either virtually or in-person).

Birth City

Lakewood

Birth State

OH

Current Location

Colorado Springs, CO

Occupation(s)

Retired Teacher/Principal

Biography

I grew up in Denver and had an astonishing career as an educator in Canon City, CO. I moved to Ivywild, Colorado Springs in 2012. This lively, expressive, charming, and historic neighborhood inspired our book. I worked with Linda Johnson, long time resident of Colorado Springs who was the owner of Ivywild Costumes from 1983-2015.

Awards/Honors

Education/Training

Master of Arts in Curriculum - Post Graduate work for School Administration - Certification from the William Glasser Institute in Choice Theory/Reality Therapy - Certification in Learning Styles/4Mat

Local Authors Genres

Published Works

Organizations

Ivywild Improvement Society - CONO (Council of Neighborhood Organizations)

Speaker Availability

Yes

Speaker Topics

Project Based Learning - Learning Styles - Choice Theory - Ivywild History

Current Location

Colorado Springs, CO

Occupation(s)

Teacher and Historian

Education/Training

Master of Arts Degree, University of Northern Colorado - Bachelor of Arts Degree, Nebraska Wesleyan University

Local Authors Genres

Published Works

Organizations

El Paso County Medical Social Alliance

Speaker Availability

Yes

Speaker Topics

Please email localauthors@ppld.org for contact information.

Birth Year (-Died Year)

1921 (-2009)

Biography

Esther Clibon was a Colorado native, born in a sod house on her father's homestead in Eastern Colorado.

Her obituary which appeared in The Gazette is available with the following link: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/gazette/obituary.aspx?n=esther-e-clibo…

Local Authors Genres

Published Works

Speaker Availability

No

Current Location

Monument, CO

Occupation(s)

Storyteller and writer

Biography

A resident of Colorado and a storyteller since 1970, John has told stories professionally since 1979. During that time he has performed for more than one million listeners (thankfully, not all at once) in a great variety of settings. John's programs of stories and a cappella ballads feature: Western History and Environment; Literature Aloud!; and, World Folklore, especially American lore. He reenacts the lives of national park pioneers Enos Mills and John Otto, as well as Charles Fox Gardiner, frontier physician. A former classroom teacher, he is a specialist in storytelling in education, having taught storytelling and other courses at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. In 1989, he founded the Rocky Mountain Storytelling Festival, now the Douglas County Libraries Storytelling Festival. He spends his spare time hiking, skiing, and working to protect Colorado's wild places.

Awards/Honors

Education/Training

John graduated with a degree in English from Holy Cross College, Worcester, Massachusetts. He earned a Master of Arts in Teaching degree from Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia in 1970.

Local Authors Genres

Published Works

Published Works Book Jackets

Organizations

Colorado Authors League - National Storytelling Network - Rocky Mountain Storytellers - Central Colorado Wilderness Coalition - Wild Connections

Speaker Availability

Yes

Speaker Topics

Writing Like a Storyteller - Storytelling: the Tell-Tale Art - Historytelling - Developing a Living History Character