Omar Tyree

     Omar Tyree, a New York Times best-selling author, a 2001 NAACP Image Award recipient for Outstanding Literature in Fiction, a 2006 Phillis Wheatley Literary Award winner for Body of Work in Urban Fiction, and a 2010 HBCU Legends Award recipient, has been cited by the City Council of Philadelphia for his work in Urban Literacy, and has published 19 books with 2 million copies sold worldwide. With a degree in Print Journalism from Howard University in 1991, Tyree has been recognized as one of the most renown contemporary writers in the African-American community. In the Spring of 2008, he founded the Urban Literacy Project (ULP) to help fight the lingering issue of illiteracy within the urban American community. He is also an informed and passionate speaker on various community-related and intellectual topics. Now entering the world of international business and seminars, urban children’s books, stageplays, feature films and songwriting, Tyree is a tireless creator and visionary of few limitations. For more information on his work and titles, please view his web site @ www.OmarTyree.com

Robert N. Macomber

     We are happy to report that Robert Macomber will be a returning presenter this year. Robert was a hit in 2009 and has since published more books in his "Honor" series starring U.S. Naval Officer Peter Wake. The picture on the right shows Robert explaining how he uses a storyboard to plot his exciting historical novels -- which he researches first hand by traveling to the countries he writes about.
     Robert N. Macomber is an internationally recognized award-winning author, lecturer, and television commentator. He is a lecturer in the Distinguished Military Author Series at the Center for Army Analysis at Fort Belvoir, near Washington DC; and has presented at the U.S. Southern Command's Notable Military Author Series, the West Point Society, the Office of Naval Intelligence, and various other Department of Defense and governmental organizations. Mr. Macomber is annual guest author and speaker aboard Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria, a maritime commentator for Florida PBS documentaries, a magazine writer, and a naval history lecturer for the American History Forum and the Civil War Education Association. His lectures span 38 various maritime and writing topics.
     Author of the Honor Series of naval intelligence novels, he is the recipient of four awards for his writing, including Best Historical Novel of Florida, Best Work in Southern Fiction, and the top national literary award in 2008 for his genre from the American Library Association. His latest novel, The Darkest Shade of Honor, has been nominated for the 2011 Florida Book Award.
     Recently, Mr. Macomber had the honor of being named as a Distinguished Lecturer at NATO by the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, Admiral James Stavridis. Shortly after he speaks at the 2010 Florida Heritage Book Festival, he will be addressing senior command staff at NATO HQ's in Belgium and at U.S. EUCOM HQ's in Germany. He also has been chosen as guest author and lecturer aboard the new Queen Elizabeth during the Ft. Lauderdale to Los Angeles segment of her maiden voyage around the world, in January of 2011.
     Each year Mr. Macomber travels approximately 20,000 miles around the globe lecturing and researching, including an annual lecture tour in the Pacific and another in Europe. He is well known for the detailed research and vivid descriptions in his books, even going to the point of making the voyages, visiting the lands, and meeting the cultures he writes about.
     When not on lecture, research, or book tour journeys, Mr. Macomber lives a simple life in Twin Palm Cottage by Serenity Bay at Matlacha Island, an old Florida fishing village on the state's southwest coast.      Education: AA in history from Edison College, Ft. Myers, Fla.; B.A. in Political Science/History from University of South Florida, Tampa, Fla.
     For more information about Mr. Macomber's life and work, visit www.robertmacomber.com.

Lockhart-Taylor Center in Wadesboro