Anthony Lamarr is author of the novels, Our First Love, and the USA Today "Must Read Romance," The Pages We Forget, both edited by Zane and published by Strebor Books, Atria, and Simon & Schuster. He's also author of two plays, Calming the Man, and, The Long Goodbye. The writer in his own words: My name is Anthony Lamar White, but I write under the pen name Anthony Lamarr. I'm a graduate of the University of Florida College of Journalism. I'm also a published novelist, playwright, optioned screenwriter, Florida Press Association award-winning columnist, and an unscripted television producer and creator. The most exciting moment of my writing career so far came in December 2014 when USA Today named my novel, The Pages We Forget, a "Must-Read Romance" and wrote, "Wrapped up in these pages is a celebration of the human spirit." I taught myself how to type at age nine just so I could write short stories and one-act plays. Three years later, at twelve, I wrote my first screenplay, a 26-page shoot-em'-up titled, "Two Against the Mob," which was inspired by my fascination with Bruce Lee films. There was no turning back after that. I am a product of a segregated then integrated world. I attended kindergarten at a segregated school. The next year, schools were integrated and I attended school with a diverse group of first graders. That's when I learned that we are more alike than we are different. I'm an African-American who has lived on both sides of the tracks, but my family and friends are a melting pot of cultures and ethnic groups. I'm a Simon & Schuster published novelist, a Florida Press Association award-winning journalist, and a screenwriter; however, I've also been a crane operator, middle-school English teacher, a Boys & Girls Club program director, a cook, telemarketer, unemployed, a 17-year-old college freshman, and a 32-year-old college graduate. I grew up in a small North Florida town, where I still reside. But, I've lived in the big cities of New York, Atlanta, and Detroit. All of these experiences, from living what my grandmother called an "all-over-the-place" life, have heightened my understanding of character, drama, and storytelling. It reflects in my writing. While living in my small hometown, Perry, FL, and caring for my mother, I wrote and self-published two novels. In Feb. 2013, I entered a publishing deal with Zane's Strebor Books and Simon & Schuster for both novels. The first, a literary romance, Our First Love, was published in December 2013. The other, a romantic drama, The Pages We Forget, was published in Dec. 2014. I am also an award-winning playwright. My stage play, Calming the Man, was selected for Atlanta's Alliance Theatre Reiser Lab Fellowship in 201-2018. It was also chosen for workshop presentations at the National Black Theatre Festival 2015, the Kennedy Center Page-to-Stage Theatre Festival 2015, and the Vision Theatre Readers Festival 2017 in Los Angeles. In October 2015, I completed my second full-length play, The Long Goodbye, which had its world premiere in December 2018 by the Florida A & M University Essential Theatre and Monticello Opera House. It was also produced by Atlanta's New African Grove Theatre Company in December 2018.
