Brian Railsback selected as 2023 Steve Kemp Writer in Residence

Great Smoky Mountains Association has announced Western Carolina University professor Dr. Brian Railsback as the recipient of its 2023 Steve Kemp Writer’s Residency. The annual residency, funded by GSMA, is designed to help writers of any medium connect in meaningful ways with Great Smoky Mountains National Park, providing space for each individual to focus on […]

When the student becomes the teacher

Xavier's family gets to work gently unstacking rocks and returning them to the creek. Photo by Sue Wasserman.

The more you know, the more you care, the better you can do. It’s a naïve thought, but it’s what I choose to believe, especially in my capacity as Great Smoky Mountains Association’s 2022 Steve Kemp Writer in Residence. I shared this thought with an Illinois family I met on a late summer hike to […]

Of big views and big bears

I’m a sucker for ‘big’ views. So when Steve Kemp, GSMA’s former creative services director and the namesake for my writing residency, suggested a hike to Andrews Bald, I was psyched—especially because it was yet another trail that would be new to me…

Discovering the intersection of history and nature

Story and photos by Sue Wasserman Being the Steve Kemp Writer-in-Residence, at least for me, is like being a kid in the proverbial candy store. My eyes pop, thinking of all the delicious possibilities. The only challenge, given the brief time frame, is choosing what to focus on. That thought was behind my request to […]