AUTHOR VISITS
There's no better way to promote a book than to have the author appear at your store for a reading or book signing. Islandport Press will work with you to help create a special event at your store. Our authors and illustrators listed below are available for events, though their availability is based on schedule and location. Check the Events calendar to see where and when our authors and illustrators are currently scheduled to appear.
Please contact us for information about book signings and author appearances.
Email: info@islandportpress.com
Phone: 207-846-3344.
WILLIAM ANDREWS
Author of Stealing History
William D. Andrews spent summers in Maine with his family for 18 years until he could find a job to justify a permanent move. That happened in 1989 when he became president of Westbrook College in Portland. In 1996, he decided to pursue a lifelong interest in writing, supplemented by freelance editing and consulting for nonprofit organizations. He has published three textbooks on management communication. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Pittsburgh and a master's degree and doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania.
He divides his time now between his homes in Newry and Portland. He served as a trustee of the Bethel Historical Society and remains active in it and in the Mahoosuc Land Trust. He reads, skis, snowshoes, cooks, plays tennis, and observes rural life and local characters.
LISA BELISLE
Author of Our Daily Tread
Lisa Belisle was raised in Yarmouth, Maine, the oldest of 10 brothers and sisters. She earned an undergraduate degree from Bowdoin College, a Doctor of Medicine from University of Vermont College of Medicine, and a Master of Public Health from Medical College of Wisconsin.
Lisa operated her own family medical practice for six years before starting Aerie River, a practice devoted to prevention and wellness that employs an integrative approach to medicine that includes and traditional and non-traditional therapies.
She is a medical advisor for Raising Readers, MaineHealth Learning Resource Centers, and Mainehealth Employees Works on Wellness (WOW) Program. Lisa writes regularly for Parent & Family and The Maine Switch as well as maintaining her website (www.drlisabelisle.com) and blog (www.bountiful-blog.com). Lisa lives in Yarmouth, and is married with three children.
CLARKE CANFIELD
Author of Those Damned Yankees
Clarke Canfield, a native of Boston who comes from a long line of Yankee haters, has hated the Yankees since birth. The experience of the Red Sox beating the Yankees to win the American League Pennant in 2004, and then going on to win the World Series, was so sweet that he was inspired to write Those Damned Yankees as a tribute to all the baseball fans who hate the Yankees just as much as he does and for just as long.
Canfield has been a journalist for more than 25 years. He currently works for The Associated Press and previously worked at daily newspapers in Arkansas, Nashville, and Maine. He has been an editor at three magazines and also has worked as a freelance writer. He earned a degree from the University of Denver and a master's degree in journalism from Boston University. He now lives in South Portland, Maine, where he plays baseball with his son and roots against the Yankees.
BEN CARR
Author of A Maine Summer Island: The Story of Bustins
Ben Carr grew up in Worcester, Massachusetts. He graduated from Worcester Academy and
Cornell University and holds graduate degrees from Union Theological Seminary, Andover Newton Theological School, and the University of London. Ben and his late wife, Marilyn, were summer residents of Bustins Island for many years before they moved to Maine full-time in the early 1970s. Ben served as a high school principal for 21 years at Narraguagus,
Noble, and Southern Aroostook.
EDIE CLARK
Author of Saturday Beans & Sunday Suppers, The View from Mary's Farm, and The Place He Made
Edie Clark has written for 17 years for Yankee Magazine about "Mary's Farm," her home in the Monadnock Region of New Hampshire. In addition to her column and her books, her work has appeared in The Boston Globe Sunday Magazine, Northeast magazine, The Christian Science Monitor and others. She has received numerous awards for her work.
MIRIAM COLWELL
Author of Contentment Cove and Young
Miriam Colwell was born in Prospect Harbor in 1917 and still lives in the house built by her great-great-great grandfather in 1817. Colwell also wrote Wind off the Water (1945) and Day of the Trumpet (1947). Her novels earned her attention at the time and prompted The Puckerbrush Review to write recently, "Everyone who wants to get acquainted with the whole body of Maine literature in the twentieth century should read Miriam Colwell."
JEAN FLAHIVE
Author of Billy Boy: The Sunday Soldier of the 17th Maine
Jean Mary Flahive, who has had a lifelong interest in the Civil War, is a member of the University of Maine System Board of Trustees.
She has taught college courses and has worked as a grant writer, fundraiser and project developer. She has won numerous awards for her work and community service. Billy Boy is her first novel. She lives in Falmouth, Maine, with her husband.
JANE FREEBERG
Author of The Scallop Christmas
Author Jane Freeberg lives on Georgetown Island in Midcoast Maine and has lived in the state for thirty years. The Scallop Christmas is based on a true story told to her by her friend Marcia, who lived most of the story. "It rattled around in my brain for 35 years, and when it came to mind, I'd think, 'That's a great story. I ought to write it down,' " she said. "I'm so glad I did."
JOHN MCDONALD
Author of Ain't He Some Funny!, Down the Road a Piece: A Storyteller's Guide to Maine and A Moose and a Lobster Walk Into a Bar: Tales from Maine
A weekend radio talk show host in Portland, a weekly newspaper columnist and the founder of the Maine Storytellers Festival, John McDonald performs at events throughout
Maine and New England and has done so for decades, constantly
perfecting his unique brand of Maine storytelling and humor in
front of audiences large and small.
LYNN PLOURDE
Author of At One: In a place called Maine
Lynn Plourde is the author of more than 20 enchanting books for children, including Pigs in the Mud in the Middle of the Rud, Snow Day, Teacher Appreciation Day, The First Feud: Between the Mountain and the Sea, and Mother, May I? Her books have won numerous regional and national awards.
BECKY RULE
Author of Live Free and Eat Pie!
Rebecca Rule has lived in New Hampshire all her life (so far). She is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire and taught writing classes there for a number of years. She is the author of three short story collections about New Hampshire, including The Best Revenge – which was named Outstanding Work of Fiction by the New Hampshire Writers Project – and Could Have Been Worse: True Stories, Embellishments, and Outright Lies. She is best known for her live storytelling events, many sponsored by the New Hampshire Humanities Council. She lives in Northwood, N.H., with her husband, John, and their fox terrier, Bob.
ASTRID SHECKELS
Illustrator of The Scallop Christmas
Illustrator Astrid Sheckels was born and raised in the farming town of Hatfield, Massachusetts. She cannot remember a time when she wasn't listening to, telling, or illustrating stories. Through her illustrations, she gives every story more depth and dimension, and her art is heavily influenced by her Scandinavian roots. The award-winning artist still lives, paints, and teaches
in Western Massachusetts.
RANDY SPENCER
Author of Where Cool Waters Flow
Randy Spencer is a Master Maine Guide, which means he is qualified and certified by the State of Maine to guide clients on fishing, hunting, or recreational adventures, although Randy's specialty is fishing. Randy's guiding business is based in the remote eastern Maine town of Grand Lake Stream, home to some of most beautiful scenery and some of the best fishing in the nation. Randy also maintains a home in Holden, Maine.
In addition to guiding, Randy is a talented singer/songwriter who has released five CDs, including his latest, Footprints in the Sand. He regularly writes a column for the Northwoods Sporting Journal that is titled "The Singing Maine Guide." In 2008, Yankee Magazine named Randy one of the "25 People You Need to Meet Most This Summer" and Portland Magazine named him one of the "10 Most Intriguing People in Maine."
LEON THOMPSON
Author of Not Too Awful Bad
Leon Thompson was born in raised in northwestern Vermont. A graduate of Lyndon State College, he is a staff reporter for the St. Albans, Vt., Messenger, where he also writes a humor column. His humor writing has garnered him awards from the New England Press Association and the National Newspaper Association, among others. He is the author of two previous books, Good Junk and Dork. Another Look At My Junk. Leon lives in St. Albans with his daughter.
