Novelist Billie Letts is the featured writer in Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute 2005 Writer's Symposium. All sessions held on the two campuses of Caldwell Community College are free and open to the public.

Author of numerous short stories and three novels, Billie Letts grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Her first novel, Where the Heart Is (1995), won the Walker Percy Award and the 1996 Oklahoma Book Award. It was chosen as an Oprah Book Club selection in January 1999 and was made into a film starring Ashley Judd and Natalie Portman in 2000. Her second novel, The Honk and Holler Opening Soon (1998), is the basis of a screenplay written by Letts and her son Tracy. Her most recent novel, Shoot the Moon (2004), as noted by an American Library Association reviewer, is “a memorable tale of love, loss, humanity, and hope.”

Letts, until recently a professor at Southeast Oklahoma University, was the first member of her family to go to college. Her commitment to education and the humanities is evident in her response to a question about her presentation schedule for our symposium: "Schedule me for whatever is best for the students." She currently lives in Oklahoma with her husband, Dennis.

Schedule of Events

April 12, 2005, 12:00 p.m.	Book Discussion of Honk and Holler, Building F153, Caldwell Campus (Hudson),
April 12, 6:30-7:30 p.m.	Book Discussion of Shoot the Moon, Watauga County Public Library (Boone)
April 14, 2005, 12:15 p.m.	Reading and Discussion with Billie Letts, Building WC112, Watauga Campus (Boone)
April 14, 2005, 7:00 p.m.	Reading and Discussion with Billie Letts, Building E120, Caldwell Campus (Hudson)
April 15, 2005, 1:00 p.m.	Reading and Discussion with Billie Letts, Building E120, Caldwell Campus (Hudson)

• Caldwell Campus Address, Map, & Directions
  
• Caldwell Campus: Map of Buildings
  
• Watauga Campus Address

For additional information, please contact either Janet Palmer (828-297-3811, x 5234) or Margaret Hampson (828-726-2361).