2023 Program

Stephen Lyn Bales, who was the keynote speaker at the inaugural Rose Glen Literary Festival in 2010, was born in Sevierville and grew up in Gatlinburg. A graduate of Gatlinburg-Pittman High School and East Tennessee State University, Bales worked as an educator and naturalist at Ijams Nature Center in Knoxville until he retired. He currently does monthly nature-related presentations for the University of Tennessee Arboretum. Bales has written over 600 newspaper and magazine articles on local nature as well as three books: Natural Histories, Ghost Birds, and Ephemeral by Nature,all published by the University of Tennessee Press. He is currently working on a fourth book.

A Sevier County native, Arthur (Art) Bohanan is an internationally award-winning patented inventor, researcher, lecturer, and writer. After earning his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from East Tennessee State University and completing further studies at The University of Tennessee, Bohanan began a 55-year career in the study and practical application of forensics at thousands of violent crime scenes. Bohanan has authored several books including the Henry Bohanan’s Journey series, Prints of a Man, and Who are You Walking On? Divinely Inspired Graveyard Forensics.

Tala Shatara is unapologetically telling it how it is in Finding Plan B as she takes you through a step-by-step guide on how to pick up the pieces when life falls apart. When her own life ended up being the exact opposite of what she hoped and prayed for, she put her sadness and trauma into this book. She keeps you entertained and pulls from her own experiences to keep you feeling understood, validated, and not alone. Finding Plan B is a great post-COVID book for anyone who can relate to a change of plans. Tala challenges certain norms and says what we’re all thinking. She keeps faith at the forefront of the conversation, encouraging you to believe this was all in God’s plan. She holds your hand through the process and keeps you feeling as if she is in the room with you. Get ready to laugh a lot, feel inspired, kiss what you thought you wanted goodbye, and say hello to the best yet.

Nashville-based marketing consultant Bo Roberts is still trying to figure out what he wants to be when he grows up. The Ohio born, East Tennessee raised, University of Tennessee educated journalist, Air Force veteran, author, and writer has made a life of setting records. He began his journalism career at The Sevier County News-Record (the forerunner of The Mountain Press) where he became the youngest newspaper editor in the United States. Later he served as the youngest cabinet-level appointee in Tennessee History, the youngest vice-president of his alma mater, and the youngest president and CEO of a highly successful World’s Fair (Knoxville, 1982). With so many accomplishments at an early age, his autobiography is appropriately titled Forever Young and covers his experiences ranging from the KKK burning a cross in his front yard to recruiting China to attend its first ever international exhibition.

Nancy East retired from a 23-year career as a small animal veterinarian to pursue her interest in outdoor education and writing. She is an avid hiker and backpacker, a Southern Appalachian Naturalist, and a member of Haywood County’s Search and Rescue Team. The search for a missing mother in Great Smoky Mountains National Park inspired her book, Chasing the Smokies Moon: An audacious 948-mile hike - fueled by love, loss, laughter, and lunacy. Nancy lives in Lake Junaluska, North Carolina, with her husband, three children, and their beloved rescue dog.

A Knoxville native, Sam Venable has written for the Knoxville News Sentinel since 1970, first as the outdoors editor and, since 1985, as a columnist who specializes in humor. He is the author of 12 books, including How to Tawlk and Rite Good: A guide to the language of Southern Appalachia, and Someday I May Find Honest Work: A Newspaper Humorist’s Life. He is a member of the East Tennessee Writers Hall of Fame, Tennessee Journalism Hall of Fame, and was the keynote speaker at the 2014 Rose Glen Literary Festival.

Marilyn Layman Mascaro is an educator, traveler, and East Tennessee native. Enamored with all written forms, she is currently focusing on non-fiction. Her poetry has been published in Bloodroot, The Caney Creek Sampler, and ABZ: A Poetry Magazine. Mascaro has a Bachelor of Science in Education and a Master of Arts in English from the University of Tennessee. Her newest work, a non-fiction book about Knoxville, Tennessee in the early twentieth century, will be published in the summer of 2023.