The Alabama Writers’ Forum
The Alabama Writers’ Forum, a partnership program of the Alabama State Council on the Arts, works to cultivate our state’s literary culture. We do that through supporting writers at all stages. We encourage our young writers to find their creative voice through the Father Goose Poetry Festival for Kids!–and through our Alabama High School Literary Arts Awards. We support the work of our state’s literary community through our Alabama Authors Directory, First Draft magazine, and other programming and opportunities for writers across the state. And we celebrate our state’s rich literary legacy through the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame. We are, above all, a community of writers united by our desire to advance the literary arts in Alabama. If that describes you — join us! There are many ways to get involved.
The Story She Left Behind
The Story She Left Behind By Patti Callahan Henry Atria Books, 2025 Genre: Fiction Reviewed by Donna Estill Inspired by the real-life disappearance of child prodigy writer Barbara Newhall Follett at age 25, Patti Callahan Henry’s The Story She Left Behind is a mystery, a tale of seemingly random connections that draws characters and stories together. The book opens in 1927 with Bronwyn Newcastle Fordham slipping away into the night, both literally and figuratively. Bronwyn is a wife and mother who is also a child prodigy, having published her first and only novel at age 11, and she is leaving behind a husband, Timothy Harrington, and a daughter, eight-year-old Clara. The moody darkness of open water, a boat, and silence set the tone for the first part of the novel. The narration is picked up by the daughter Clara Harrington, now a divorced single mother of an eight-year-old. She teaches art at the local elementary school, lives with her father and fragile eight-year-old daughter Wynnie in the family home, and has just won a Caldecott award for [...]
