Most of
what Laura Purcell writes these days
is either unattributed or attributed to others. So far, she is resigned to
her status as a journeyman writer as long as she draws a regular paycheck
and health insurance benefits.Born and raised in Boonton, New Jersey, one of Laura’s earliest memories is of searching through the Little House series for her name. At age five she sold a book she wrote to her babysitter for a quarter, thus sealing her fate as a writer. In 2003, she won 3rd place in the KWG essay contest. The Pulitzer can’t be far … Laura went to college in Maryland, studying English as an undergraduate at the University of Maryland, College Park, and then earning a master’s degree at the Johns Hopkins University. She spent two years teaching in inner-city Baltimore before moving to Knoxville in 2001. Laura has worked as a technical writer and is an active member of the East Tennessee Chapter of the Society of Technical Communication. Currently, she is Library Outreach Coordinator at the UT Libraries, where she manages public relations and internal and external communications for the Libraries. Her favorite UT encounters to date include speaking to John Cullum, because he called her phone number by mistake, and being delayed at Newark Airport with Pat Summit. In her ever shrinking free time, Laura likes to write short stories and she is very thankful for the thorough feedback and support she receives from the guild’s short story writing group. Laura lives in Fountain City with her husband, Aaron. She is pictured here sharing a Rheingold with her grandfather. You can email her at lpurcell@utk.edu. |
Tennessee Book Award - Peter
Taylor Prize for the Novel