Dr. Jeri Watts’ book, Kizzy Ann Stamps, is one of 23 books on the Girls of Summer list recently featured on WVTF radio, the local NPR affiliate. Kizzy Ann Stamps is a short novel about growing up during integration.
The Girls of Summer list, created four years ago by two Richmond-based writers Gigi Amateau and Meg Medina, is designed to help girls make sense of growing up.
Dr. Watts, associate professor and director of Undergraduate Curriculum and Instruction, has written several children’s books.
A native of Lynchburg, Dr. Watts returned in 2006 to teach at LC after working as a reading specialist and writing teacher in Lexington, Va. for 27 years. She previously published Keepers and Sarmandi, as well as Writing Teachers Become Writers, in which she encourages teachers who write to do the assignments they give their students.
A graduate of the College of William and Mary, Dr. Watts earned her EdD at the University of Virginia. She and her husband Chuck have two grown daughters, both LC graduates, who often read her stories and give helpful advice. Mary Carson is a 2007 graduate who now teaches first grade, while Chandler earned a BA in international relations is 2009 and in political science in 2011.