Cooper, Floyd
Floyd Cooper (1956-2021) was a Coretta Scott King Award winner and illustrator of numerous books for children including
Ruth and the Green Book,
A Spy Called James, and
Max and the Tag-Along Moon.
Unspeakable, one of his final picture books, was a National Book Award longlist title, a Sibert Honor book, and a Caldecott Honor book. He received a degree in fine arts from the University of Oklahoma and went on to develop a distinctive art technique called oil erasure.
Strauss, Gwen
Gwen Strauss's book of poems,
Trail of Stones, with illustrations by Anthony Browne was published by Knopf in New York and Walker Books in London.
The Night Shimmy (Random House), a children's book with the same illustrator, has been translated into several languages. She is an award-winning poet and her writing has appeared in many publications, including the
London Sunday Times,
The New Republic,
New England Review,
Kenyon Review,
Tampa Review, and
Antioch Review. She works as the on-site director at the Brown Foundation Fellowship Program at the Dora Maar House in Ménerbes, France.
Ramsey, Calvin Alexander
Calvin Alexander Ramsey, Atlanta-based playwright, photographer, and folk art painter, grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, and Roxboro, North Carolina. In addition to having been a year-round resident of Martha's Vineyard, Calvin has a passion for travel and has lived in New York City; Santa Monica, California; Chapel Hill, North Carolina; and the U.S. Virgin Islands of St. Croix and St. John.
He is a former Advisory Board Member of the Robert Woodruff Library Special Collections at Emory University in Atlanta. He is also a recipient of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Drum Major for Justice Award.
His plays have been performed in New York City; Washington, D.C.; Atlanta; San Francisco; Valdez, Alaska; Omaha, Nebraska; Baltimore; and Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
His plays include
Bricktop, The Musical;
The Green Book;
Damaged Virtues;
Canada Lee;
Sherman Town, Baseball, Apple Pie and The Klan;
Enlightenment;
Sister Soldiers;
Kentucky Avenue;
Somewhere In My Lifetime;
Johnny Mercer: A Man and His Music, a musical tribute to the author of Moon River and others; and
The Age of Possibilities. His children's books are
The Last Mule of Gee's Bend and
Ruth and the Green Book.
He is the father of three children, all of whom are writers.
