Rheta Grimsley Johnson has covered the South for over three decades as a newspaper reporter and columnist. Her reporting has won numerous awards, and in 1991 she was one of three finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for commentary. In 1986, Johnson was inducted into the Scripps Howards Newspapers Editorial Hall of Fame. Syndicated today by King Features, Johnson’s column appears in about 50 newspapers nationwide.

In Enchanted Evening Barbie Johnson’s latest book (April, 2010), the nationally syndicated columnist and winner of the Ernie Pyle Award for human interest reporting, turns her sharp eye on herself in this frank, exhilarating, wise, poignant, and brave memoir. Her territory ranges from childhood memories of ritual pre-interstate trips in the family station wagon to visit foot-washing Baptist relative to young-girl fixations on the Barbie dolls of the title, from the simultaneous exuberance and proto-feminist doubts of young marriage to the aches of loves lost through divorce and death.

Workshop hours: 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Lunch: 12:00 p.m.
Cost: $85

Included in the registration are coffee, tea, soft drinks, and snacks before the morning sessions. Meal options will be available after registration.

If you need additional information, please contact Sue Richardson Orr at theorrs@usit.net