2024 One Book Project for Columbia, South Carolina presents a Panel Discussion with Author Cassie Premo Steele, Scholar Emily Fairfax, and Moderator Elizabeth Vernon (E.V.) Bell.
Watch the panel recording online (Embedded video coming soon!).
Author
Cassie Premo Steele (she/her), the author of the new novel, Beaver Girl, the 2024 selection for the One Book Project for Columbia, South Carolina, is an environmental writer who holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature and Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. She is the author of many books, including 7 books of poetry and 3 novels. She is the recipient of numerous writing awards , among them the Archibald Rutledge Prize, named after the first Poet Laureate of South Carolina, where she lives in Columbia with her wife.
Cassie’s Website
Scholar
Dr. Emily Fairfax (she/her) is an Assistant Professor of Geography in the Department of Geography, Environment, and Society at the University of Minnesota, and has been featured on PBS, BBC, CBS, the New York Times, LA Times, NPR, Science Friday, and other media outlets. Her research, which was a major source of inspiration for the author Cassie Premo Steele in writing the novel, Beaver Girl, focuses on the ecohydrology of riparian areas, particularly those that have been impacted by beaver damming. She uses a combination of remote sensing, modeling, and field work to understand how beaver damming changes these landscapes and on what timescales those changes operate. She also has an interest in science education research, particularly curriculum development.
Emily’s Website
Moderator
Elizabeth Vernon (E.V.) Bell (she/her) is the Marine Education Specialist for the SC Sea Grant Consortium and a recipient of the 2023 South Carolina Environmental Awareness Award. Among many other programs and achievements, E.V. coordinates the “All Booked Up” environmental book club for South Carolina, and she frequently hosts virtual book club and author discussions as a part of this role. Her background in environmental and marine science, and her love for books and for authors, make her the perfect choice to moderate this event.
Elizabeth’s Website
More About One Book
The Jasper Project has partnered with One Columbia for Arts and Culture and independent bookstore, All Good Books, to renewed the One Book Project in 2024