A large and prolific group of authors and poets – some famous, most obscure but hopeful – live and write in the Tampa Bay region. Below is a long, though by no means comprehensive, list.
Tampa Bay Area Writers Groups
Florida Writers Association (writers groups in Bradenton, Brandon, Lakeland, New Port Richey, Sarasota, St. Petersburg, Tampa, Wesley Chapel)
Pinellas Authors and Writers Organization
Sarasota Fiction Writers
Tampa Area Romance Authors
Tampa Writers Alliance
Tampa Bay Area Literary Events/Conferences/Publications
St. Petersburg Times Festival of Reading
Deep Carnivale
Eckerd College Writers' Conference: Writers in Paradise
Saw Palm (University of South Florida)
Tampa Review (University of Tampa)
Writers at the University (University of Tampa)
Tampa Bay Area Writers
Tracy A. Akers
Skip Allen
Marianne Aluotto
Mary Kay Andrews (Kathy Hogan Trocheck)
Ray Arsenault
Joanne Ashley
Ace Atkins
David Audette
Gene (E.C.) Ayres
Wayne Barcomb
Wendy Boucher
Sandra D. Bricker
Nicholas D. Brown
Don Bruns
Sheramy Bundrick
Linda Burhans
Richard Lee Byers
Madeline Camara
John Capouya
Kathy Carmichael
Rita Cerisi
Nora Charles (Noreen Wald)
Bill Chastain
Wendi Christner
Blaize Clement
Michael Connelly
Ann Turner Cook
Max Courson
Jasmine Cresswell
Linda Crockett Gray
Tracy Crow
Tony D'Souza
Lisa Daily
Michael Darling
George A. Davis
Jack E. Davis
Michelle Ivy Davis
Michael J. Deeb
Scott Deitche
Tim Dorsey
Lois Duncan
Ken Dye
G.G. Elliott
Jan Evans
Valerie Faulker
Tom Fincher
John Henry Fleming
Frank Foster
Connie May Fowler
Terri Garrey
Debra Gingerich
Leslie Glass
Peter Golenbock
Randy Gonzalez
Dona Lee Gould
Lisa Grace
Heather Graham
Daniel Guarro
Patricia Gussin
Robert Gussin
David Hagberg
Lynne Hansen
Susan Noe Harmon
Hunt Hawkins
Russell Heitz
Carolyn Hennecy
Patty G. Henderson
Virginia Sydall Henley
Marylou Hess
Robert Z. Hicks
Jay Hopler
Susan B. Huetteman
Bruce Hunt
Lee Irby
Chris Jackson
Chrissy Jackson
Charles Jacobs
John Jakes
Joan Johnston
Beth Kaio
N.M. Kelby
Susan Kearney
Sandra Kischuk
Ward Larsen
Rachel Lee
Dennis Lehane
Julie Leto
Kimberly Llewellen
Gabi Lorino
Weslynn McCallister
Susan Carol McCarthy
Gregory McColm
Connie Mason
Claire Matturro
Amanda Louise Martin
Stephen Mather
Debby Mayne
Peter Meinke
Mike Mihalek
John Miller
Sharon Miner
Jackie Minniti
William Mize
Joyce Elson Moore
Madeline Mora-Summonte
Vicki Morgan
Gary Mormino
Charrie Hazard Moscardini
Kathy Nappier (K.L. Nappier)
Greg Neri
Ev Newton
Charlie Norman
Diane Ochiltree
Ersula Odom
Eugene Orlando
Diana Peterfreund
Deirdre Powell
Karen Rose
Raymond Ryder
Roxanne St. Claire
Maureen Sevilla
Jeff Shaara
Anna Small
Bruce Smith
Doreen Serrano
Jeff Strand
Ira Sukrungruang
James Swain
Chris Coad Taylor
John M. Taylor
Vicki M. Taylor
Alicia Thompson
Fred Tomasello Jr.
Heather Trese
Lisa Unger
Andrea Dean Van Scoyoc
Ian Vasquez
Helen Wallace
Freda Gower Ward
Melissa Wathington
Sterling Watson
Mac Wheeler
Linda Neckel White
Rick Wilber
Elissa Wilds
C.L. Wilson
Pete Williams
Brandi Winans
Madonna Wise
Carter Gaddis is a freelance writer and aspiring novelist working out of his cookie-cutter Florida stucco home on a golf course in Lutz. He gave up on golf years ago, but can be spotted occasionally chasing his pre-K sons through Lowry Park Zoo and Busch Gardens. Comments? Contact 83 Degrees.
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Carter Gaddis is a freelance writer and graduate of the University of South Florida (BA, mass communications). He covered sports for the Tampa Tribune for 16 years, including four years on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and eight years on the Tampa Bay Rays beat. He publishes the parenting and social commentary blog,
DadScribe, and is a contributing writer for the TODAY Show. He lives in Lutz with his wife and two sons. Carter can be found on Twitter
@DadScribe.