June Bailey White (born May 31, 1950) is an

American author American literature is literature written or produced in the United States of America and in the British colonies that preceded it. The American literary tradition is part of the broader tradition of English-language literature, but also ...

and a regular radio commentator for the

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

program ''

All Things Considered ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...

''.

Biography

June Bailey White was born in

Thomasville, Georgia Thomasville is the county seat of Thomas County, Georgia, United States. The population was 18,881 in 2020. The city deems itself the "City of Roses" and holds an annual Rose Festival. The city features plantations open to the public, a histor ...

, May 31, 1950. She is the daughter of

Robb White Robb White III (20 June 1909 – 24 Nov. 1990) was an American writer of screenplays, television scripts, and adventure novels. Most of the latter had a maritime setting, often the Pacific Navy during World War II. White was best known for juve ...

, who was a fiction writer, and Rosalie White (née Mason), a farmer. White grew up with her mother in Georgia, while her father lived and wrote in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

. Her mother, and her mother's South Georgian eccentricity, have been central to her writing. Her mother died in 1994. After graduating from

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

in 1973, Bailey White moved to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, where she married her father's best friend. After 11 years of marriage, she returned to Georgia where she taught, for more than twenty years, at the school she attended as a girl. Her friend,

Daniel Pinkwater Daniel Manus Pinkwater (born November 15, 1941) is an American author of children's books and young adult fiction. His books include ''Lizard Music'', ''The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death'', ''Fat Men from Space'', '' Borgel'', and the p ...

, convinced her to submit some commentaries to NPR. Her gravelly voice and gift for portraying the unusual personalities of people in the rural South with gentle wit proved very popular with her NPR audience. In 1999, she left teaching to concentrate on her writing. White has published four books: '' Mama Makes Up Her Mind''; '' Sleeping at the Starlite Motel''; '' Quite a Year for Plums''; and, in 2008, '' Nothing with Strings''.

Awards

* Georgia Writers Hall of Fame, inducted 2008

References

External links

* NPR
''"What would they say in Birmingham?''
November 23, 2006. Contains links to other Bailey White stories.

given April 11, 2008 as part of Bailey White's induction into the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame. {{DEFAULTSORT:White, Bailey 1950 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American memoirists American women novelists American radio journalists American women short story writers Florida State University alumni NPR personalities Novelists from Georgia (U.S. state) American women memoirists American women essayists 20th-century American women writers 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American essayists American women radio journalists 21st-century American women