Background
Steve Watkins was born as Stephen Hulme Watkins on October 9, 1954, in Alexandria, Virginia, United States. He is the son of Shirley Clyde and Nora Lea Hulme Watkins.
Steve Watkins
3400 N Wesleyan Blvd, Rocky Mount, NC 27804, United States
North Carolina Wesleyan College where Steve Watkins studied.
601 S College Rd, Wilmington, NC 28403, United States
The University of North Carolina at Wilmington where Steve Watkins studied.
600 W College Ave, Tallahassee, FL 32306, United States
Florida State University where Steve Watkins received his Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees.
Steve Watkins with his daughters
3400 N Wesleyan Blvd, Rocky Mount, NC 27804, United States
North Carolina Wesleyan College where Steve Watkins studied.
601 S College Rd, Wilmington, NC 28403, United States
The University of North Carolina at Wilmington where Steve Watkins studied.
600 W College Ave, Tallahassee, FL 32306, United States
Florida State University where Steve Watkins received his Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees.
Golden Kite Award which Steve Watkins received in 2009.
(In 1988 several white managers of the Shoney's restaurant...)
In 1988 several white managers of the Shoney's restaurant chain protested against the company's discriminatory hiring practices, including an order to blacken the "O" in "Shoney's" on minorities' job applications so that the marked forms could be discarded. When the managers refused to comply, they lost their jobs but not their resolve - they sued the company. Their case grew into the largest racial job discrimination class-action lawsuit of its time. Shoney's eventually offered to settle out of court, and the nearly 21,000 claimants divided a $132.5 million settlement, bringing to an abrupt end a landmark case that changed corporate attitudes nationwide. The Black O speaks to an issue that continues to have great urgency, serving as a stark refutation that the civil rights movement eliminated systemic discrimination from the workplace.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BY62CWS/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i8
1997
(A dozen stories in Steve Watkins' first book of fiction a...)
A dozen stories in Steve Watkins' first book of fiction are funny and odd, and resonant with clues to the secret ways of men and boys. In settings ranging from the dark underbelly of the Deep South and Texas to New York and beyond this country to Kenya and India, the stories all deal with young and not-so-young men coming of age.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0870745123/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i10
2006
(In a tale full of humor and poignancy, a sheltered twelve...)
In a tale full of humor and poignancy, a sheltered twelve-year-old boy comes of age in a small Florida mining town amid the changing mores of the 1960s. It's 1966 and Dewey Turner is determined to start the school year right. No more being the brunt of every joke. No more "Deweyitis." But after he stains his face with shoe polish trying to mimic the popular Shoeshine Boy at the minstrel show, he begins seventh grade on an even lower rung, earning the nickname Sambo and being barred from the "whites only" bathroom. The only person willing to talk to him, besides his older brother, Wayne, is fellow outsider Darla Turkel, who wears her hair like Shirley Temple and sings and dances like her, too. Through their friendship, Dewey gains awareness of issues bigger than himself and bigger than his small town of Sand Mountain.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004SH6J56/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i6
2008
(After her veterinarian dad dies, sixteen-year-old Iris Wi...)
After her veterinarian dad dies, sixteen-year-old Iris Wight must leave her beloved Maine to live on a North Carolina farm with her hardbitten aunt and a cousin she barely knows. Iris, a vegetarian and animal lover, immediately clashes with Aunt Sue, who mistreats the livestock, spends Iris's small inheritance, and thinks nothing of striking Iris for the smallest offense. Things come to a head when Iris sets two young goats free to save them from slaughter, and an enraged Aunt Sue orders her brutish son, Book, to beat Iris senseless - a horrific act that lands Book and his mother in jail. Sent to live with an offbeat foster family and their "dooking" ferrets, Iris must find a way to take care of the animals back at the farm, even if it means confronting Aunt Sue. Powerful and deeply moving, this compelling novel affirms the redemptive power of animals and the resilience of the human spirit.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004V9IFGM/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i9
2011
(Sadie Windas has always been the responsible one - she's ...)
Sadie Windas has always been the responsible one - she's the star player on her AAU basketball team, she gets good grades, she dates a cute soccer player, and she tries to help out at home. Not like her older sister, Carla, who leaves her three-year-old daughter, Lulu, with Aunt Sadie while she parties and gets high. But when both sisters are caught up in a drug deal - wrong place, wrong time - it falls to Sadie to confess to a crime she didn't commit to keeping Carla out of jail and Lulu out of foster care.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EZX2WFY/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i7
2013
(It's been a month since the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Amer...)
It's been a month since the bombing of Pearl Harbor. America is officially at war with Germany and Japan, and everyone wants to do their part. In twelve-year-old Colton's case, that means stepping up at home once his older brother, Danny, ships out with the navy. But before Danny leaves for boot camp, the brothers are fishing on the Atlantic Ocean when Danny's boat is capsized by a Nazi U-boat, nearly killing him. When more U-boats start attacking the next day, Colton realizes just how close the enemy is to American shores.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XSLQGHM/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i0
2017
(The last place on earth Taylor Sorenson wants to be is in...)
The last place on earth Taylor Sorenson wants to be is in Saigon in the middle of the Vietnam War. His mom dragged him here to visit his dad, who's stationed at the United States embassy, and Taylor is bored out of his skull. One night, during an embassy dinner, he decides to sneak out to see the Tet celebrations in the city. But before he makes it very far, fighting erupts across all of South Vietnam - and Taylor is captured by the North Vietnamese Army. Realizing he could be an important bargaining chip, the NVA decides to move Taylor to the North. The only way there is the Ho Chi Ming Trail, a series of dangerous paths that snake from South Vietnam through Laos and Cambodia before finally reaching North Vietnam. But thousands have died on the trail, and Taylor doesn't know what's waiting for him at the end.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078TMQSMF/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i3
2018
(Ghosts of War is a book series consisting of books The Se...)
Ghosts of War is a book series consisting of books The Secret of Midway, Lost at Khe Sanh, AWOL in North Africa, and Fallen in Fredericksburg. In the basement of his family's junkshop, Anderson and his friends Greg and Julie discover a trunk full of old military stuff. Including a battered navy peacoat from World War II, and when Anderson puts it on he finds a mysterious letter in the pocket. Curious, he takes the coat and letter home. But that's not all he brings home.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078MQRTK6?searchxofy=true&ref_=dbs_s_aps_series_rwt
Steve Watkins was born as Stephen Hulme Watkins on October 9, 1954, in Alexandria, Virginia, United States. He is the son of Shirley Clyde and Nora Lea Hulme Watkins.
Steve Watkins studied at North Carolina Wesleyan College. Then he continued his studies at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington where he was from 1973 till 1975. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude from Florida State University in 1977, a Master of Arts degree in 1985 and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1990.
Steve Watkins, before starting his writing career, did some other activities. In 1972 he worked as an assembly line worker at Pelouze Scale Co. Then, from 1974 till 1975 he worked as a nurse's aide at New Hanover Memorial Hospital. After that, he joined Florida Flambeau as a writer and became an associate editor in 1977 and an editor in 1978, the position he held till 1980. The next year he also worked as a teacher at a child care center in Leon County. That same year he joined the Tallahassee Democrat as an assistant news editor, becoming an assistant features editor in 1982 and an arts and features writer in 1983. He was also a writer and editor at Therapeutic Concepts, Inc. and Red Letter Editorial Consultants in 1988.
After receiving a doctor's degree, in 1990 Watkins began working as an assistant professor at Mary Washington College (now University of Mary Washington) becoming an associate professor in 1996. It was in 1990, that he began conducting research for his book The Black O: Racism and Redemption in an American Corporate Empire which tells the story of the largest employment discrimination class-action lawsuit in the United States history. Over the next seven years, he continued his research, following the development of the largest racial class-action job discrimination lawsuit in United States history, Haynes v. Shoney's, Inc., which was settled in 1993 for more than a hundred-thirty-two-million dollars.
In 2012 he retired from teaching position when Dragonfly Yoga Studio opened, became a practicing yogi, but his writing remained constant. Steve Watkins is the author of books On Blood Road, Juvie, What Comes After, Great Falls, Sink or Swim, Down Sand Mountain, Goat Girl, My Chaos Theory, and others. One of the most successful novel series written by Watkins is titled Ghosts of War. It consists of four books, The Secret of Midway (2014), Lost at Khe Sanh (2015), AWOL in North Africa (2016) and Fallen in Fredericksburg (2016). The Ghosts of War books feature three teenage friends who are trying to navigate the ordinary pitfalls of being a teenager when they discover an old chest in the basement of an antique shop and now face the added pressure of trying to solve the mysteries of lost ghosts between homework and band practice. The books are funny, entertaining and poignant. He published his recent novel, On Blood Road: A Vietnam War Novel, in 2018.
His fiction, poetry and non-fiction articles appeared in numerous publications, including The Nation, Poets & Writers, Mississippi Review, 100 Percent Pure Florida Fiction, North American Review and The Pushcart Prize Anthology.
Steve Watkins is a recognized award-winning author. His first awards were received in 1988 from the Florida Magazine Association. These were the Silver Award for feature writing and the Charlie Award. He received a grant from Florida Arts Council in 1990. He was the winner of short fiction contest from Snake Nation Review in 1991 for Kafka's Sister and the Pushcart Prize for best of the small presses in 1992 for the story Critterworld. His short story collection, My Chaos Theory, was a finalist for the Paterson Fiction Prize and received an Honorable Mention for the Library of Virginia Fiction Award. He was also a recipient of the 2009 Golden Kite Award for young adult fiction.
(In 1988 several white managers of the Shoney's restaurant...)
1997(Sadie Windas has always been the responsible one - she's ...)
2013(After her veterinarian dad dies, sixteen-year-old Iris Wi...)
2011(In a tale full of humor and poignancy, a sheltered twelve...)
2008(A dozen stories in Steve Watkins' first book of fiction a...)
2006(The last place on earth Taylor Sorenson wants to be is in...)
2018(It's been a month since the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Amer...)
2017(Ghosts of War is a book series consisting of books The Se...)
Steve Watkins is an investigator and advocate for abused and neglected children through the child advocacy organization CASA. He and his wife are co-directors of the religious education program at the Fredericksburg Unitarian Universalist Church.
Steve Watkins married Laurie Louise Wilson on February 29, 1984. The marriage produced two daughters, Maggie and Eva. With his second wife, Janet, he has also two daughters, Claire and Lili.
(March 6, 1927 - June 2, 2018)
Shirley Clyde Watkins was a Certified Professional Engineer and Certified Land Surveyor, who worked for many years in the mining industry inland reclamations. His professional life included employment with American Cyanamid, Occidental Petroleum, Texas Gulf Sulphur, IMC, and Morrison-Knudsen.
