Irene Latham was born in Georgia and except for a two and a half year stint in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, she has lived her entire life in the southeast. Since 1984 she has called Birmingham, Alabama, her home. Although her degrees are in social work, she has been closet writer for as long as she can remember. It wasn’t until the birth of her third child in the year 2000 that she began to pursue publication of her work. Since then she has published widely in the poetry market and has won numerous awards, including being named Alabama State Poetry Society’s 2006 Poet of the Year. Her first full-length collection of poems WHAT CAME BEFORE was released by Negative Capability Press in 2007. Currently her focus is mid-grade historical fiction. This gives her an excuse to travel and spend long hours reading. Her first novel THE WITCHES OF GEE’S BEND will be published by G.P. Putnam in 2010.

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