About the Archive
Following William's death, a small group of friends and admirers continues to prepare William's manuscripts for print. The goal of the Archive is to release this great writing to the world and provide as much of the proceeds as possible back to William's family.
J.M. White
Director and Editor
J. M. (Michael ) White has published two volumes of William Gay's prose. As a result he ended up as the steward for the William Gay archive and has worked with a team of William's friends and fans to prepare the massive amount of material in the archive for publication. This year will see the publication of both Stoneburner and Lost Country. Those along with Little Sister Death are the first fruits of the archive which still contains another substantive novella and a collection of short stories. He has also published seven books of his own writings including a memoir of his time with William Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg called Naropa Journals, his journals of travels in Tibet, Peru and Mexico titled Ports of Entry and The Birth of Death which is an account about visiting the Paleolithic art in the caves of southern France, along with three books of poetry The Beyond Within, The Latch, and Confidential Advise for the Unconventional, and a novel titled Future Nothingness Already.
michaelwhite(at)dtccom.net
futurenothingnessalready.com
Lamont Ingalls
Editor Emeritus of Wild Dog/Anomolaic Press
Born and raised in Nashville, spiritual homeland in New Orleans; MA from Tulane; editor of numerous book-length publications of fiction and non-fiction. Lives with Amy and doxie, Tennessee, in a 50’s cottage in Florida.
As a Southern-born English Major, I’ve been enamored of the writing of Flannery O’Connor and Cormac McCarthy for much of my reading life. About 15 years ago, Michael White introduced me to William at his cabin on Little Swan Creek in Hohenwald. William soon was added to my literary pantheon. As one of the editors of the recovered manuscripts of William Gay, I am quite proud to be involved with sending a new flock of William’s tales to fly brilliantly about the world.
ingallsedits(at)gmail.com
Paul Nitsche
Editor, Illustration and design, Web design
Paul came into the Archive as a fan of William's writing. A correspondence began between Paul and Michael White shortly after William's death, and before long Paul was involved with editing the unpublished material. He is grateful and honored to be helping with this literary project.
Paul graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1992. Currently residing in rural southwest Wisconsin, Paul inhabits a 1895 church that serves as home and studio. His sculptures and lithographic prints have been shown throughout the U.S. and his illustration and design widely published. He is married to Certified Prosthetist and Orthotist Rebecca Lamson Nitsche.
paulnitsche.com
paulnitsche(at)hotmail.com
Shelia Kennedy
Editor
I consider myself one of the fortunate few to have been involved in bringing William’s “lost” manuscripts to light. I became friends with William a few years before his death as I was his driver for the Clarksville Writers Conference and those rides to and from Hohenwald and subsequent hours-long phone calls were filled with laughter-filled conversation about books, music and life. I didn’t hesitate when Michael White asked if I would be interested in typing the manuscripts, a literary jigsaw puzzle, I think he called it! Aside from handwriting that was nearly illegible, William’s vocabulary was vast. Mine is not! Google was an invaluable tool and the particular word being researched was always the perfect one for the situation. At times, the writing was so beautiful that I had to stop for a period of time to digest and relish it, knowing that there was no choice but to help get as much as possible published so that everyone could enjoy it.
notreallymanagement(at)gmail.com
Susan McDonald
Editor
Susan is a retired attorney living in Middle Tennessee. She enjoys editing books and is President of a non profit organization which helps feed children in Peru. She was privileged to spend time with William Gay and his dog Knuckles so it was a joy to work on unraveling and transcribing some of William's handwritten manuscripts. William was a very humble, kind, unpretentious and unique man who could easily have been a character out of his own novels....and perhaps was. She is proud to be part of Team Gay and in some small way help to perpetuate his remarkable legacy!
ameliaview(at)bellsouth.net
Dawn Major
Editor
Dawn is also an Associate Editor at Southern Literary Review. She wrote her master critical thesis on the supernatural elements on William Gay’s body of work and since that time has worked with the William Gay Archive providing editorial assistance to publish his posthumous works. She enjoys lecturing about William Gay’s prose and artwork at literary conferences and festivals. Her advocacy with the William Gay Archive has led her to promote southern authors and literature through her blog.
Dawn received her MFA in Creative Writing from the Etowah Valley Writing Program at Reinhardt University, her BA in English from Kennesaw State University, and a Creative Writing Certificate from Emory Continuing Education. She was awarded the James Dickey Fellowship and acted as editorial assistant for the James Dickey Review. She won the Dr. Robert Driscoll Award for Excellence in Writing on Regional Themes and the Faculty Choice Award also for Excellence in Writing at Reinhardt University. Her published work may be found at Heavy Feather Review, Elder Mountain: A Study in Ozark Studies, Georgia Gothic Anthology, Springer Mountain Press, Five Points-A Journal of Literature & Art, James Dickey Review, Sanctuary Journal, Sediments Literary-Arts Journal, and Family Life Publications. She is a member of Atlanta Writers Club, Broadleaf Writers Association, Georgia Writers Association, and Horror Writers Association. She is actively seeking publication of her linked narrative collection, The Bystanders. To learn more about Dawn Major, visit her website at www.dawnmajor.com where she shares her work, collaborates with and advocates for southern authors.