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Writing Below Sea Level's Cedar Key Project Faculty
Connie May Fowler
Writing Below Sea Level: Full Immersion Workshops for Serious Writers, Founder
Faculty Member, Fiction
www.conniemayfowler.com
Connie May Fowler is an award-winning novelist, memoirist, and screenwriter. She is the author of five critically acclaimed novels including River of Hidden Dreams, Remembering Blue which was awarded the Chautauqua South Literary Award and Before Women had Wings, recipient of the 1996 Southern Book Critics Circle Award and the Francis Buck Award from the League of American Pen Women. Three of her novels have been Dublin International Literary Award nominees. Ms. Fowler adapted Before Women had Wings for Oprah Winfrey. The result was an Emmy-winning film starring Ms. Winfrey and Ellen Barkin. Her most recent work, The Problem with Murmur Lee, was published by Doubleday in January 2005 and by Broadway Books in March 7, 2006. It was chosen as Redbook’s premier book club selection. In 2002 she published When Katie Wakes, a memoir that explores her descent and escape from an abusive relationship. Her work has been translated into 15 languages and is published worldwide. Her essays have been published in the New York Times, London Times, International Herald Tribune, Japan Times, Oxford American, Best Life, and elsewhere. For two years she wrote "Savoring Florida," a culinary and culture column for Forum, a publication of the Florida Humanities Council. In 2007 Ms. Fowler performed in New York City at The Player’s Club with actresses Kathleen Chalfont, Penny Fuller and others in an adaptation based on The Other Woman, an anthology that contains her essay “The Uterine Blues.” In 2003 Ms. Fowler performed in The Vagina Monologues alongside Jane Fonda and Rosie Perez in a production that raised over $100,000 for charity. Her seventh book, a novel titled How Clarissa Burden Learned to Fly will be published in May 2010 by Grand Central Publishing. She is currently working on her next project, a novel titled Euphrates in Paradise. In addition to writing, Ms. Fowler has held numerous jobs including bartender, food caterer, nurse, television producer, TV show host, antique peddler, and construction worker. From 1997-2003 she directed the Connie May Fowler Women Wings Foundation, an organization dedicated to aiding women and children in need. From 2003-2007 she served as the Irving Bacheller Professor of Creative Writing at Rollins College and directed their visiting author series Winter With the Writers. Ms. Fowler travels the country, speaking on topics such as writing, self-employment in the arts, literacy, domestic violence, child abuse, environmental issues, and popular culture. She teaches writing workshops and seminars globally and is the founder of Below Sea Level: Full Immersion Workshops for Serious Writers. She is a Florida native.
Zilpha Underwood
Writing Below Sea Level: Full Immersion Workshops for Serious Writers
Faculty Member, Creative Non-Fiction
The Cedar Key Project Writers Conference
An editor with 25 years of newsroom experience, Zilpha Underwood has worked with scores of feature writers, reviewers, columnists, reporters, and freelancers. She spent most of her career working in the features department of the Tallahassee Democrat, a Knight Ridder newspaper purchased by the Gannett Company in 2005. For her last 14 years at the Democrat she was the features editor, responsible for daily sections covering a wide range of topics—from arts and entertainment to religion. Zilpha edited Limelight, the Democrat’s most popular section—indeed, in 2006, the best-read publication in the Gannett chain. For 10 years she was the editor of Style, the paper’s monthly women’s tabloid, and later the editor of the Democrat’s prestigious Home and Design magazine. In addition to overseeing writers, photographers, designers, and other staff, Zilpha wrote a column for each of these publications, as well as occasional stories for those and other features sections. A longtime member of the American Association of Sunday and Features Editors, Zilpha was awarded fellowships by International Women in Media and the American Press Institute. Zilpha has a bachelor’s degree in American Studies from Florida State University. She is currently a freelance writer, editor, teacher, and consultant.
Eileen Burt Carbia
Writing Below Sea Level: Full Immersion Workshops for Serious Writers
Faculty Member, Literature
The Cedar Key Project Writers Conference
Eileen Burt Carbia ("Burtie") taught writing and literature from the early 90's to the end of 2007 at Appalachian State University where she co-directed the University Writing Center for several years. Her own work has appeared in Cold Mountain Review and the AHANA Journal among others; her essay about working with students on 9/11 was included in the Spring 2002 Southeastern Writing Center Association's publication. She has written for Mountain Life Magazine and led creative writing workshops for the Ashe County Arts Council. Always interested in editing as well as writing, Burtie has freelanced for McFarland Publishing and edited other professors' books along with graduate theses and dissertations. Trading the glorious Blue Ridge mountains for the Gulf Coast of Florida has been an easy transition for Burtie since she was an island dweller in both Key West and Cedar Key prior to her teaching career in the High Country of North Carolina.
