Debra Bowling grew up in Northeast Alabama with a love of books and writing. After
graduating from The University of Alabama with degrees in social work and criminal justice, she
worked with issues such as domestic violence, runway teens, child abuse, and other areas while
also writing articles and stories, taking photographs, and producing video documentaries.
Bowling was a Finalist in the 1989 Home Town USA Video Festival for Stories of Survival,
which was also screened by Amnesty International and Image Film & Video the same year in
Atlanta. Her documentary, Walking Without Music: Raymond Andrews and the Storyteller’s
Tradition, was purchased by Emory University to include with the author’s papers and books in a
special collection and included as part of the films available through the Center for the Study of
Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi. The Atlanta Bureau of Cultural Affairs
awarded her a grant in 1991 to complete Three Southern Writers, video documentaries of authors
Tina McElroy Ansa, Terry Kay, and Sara Flannigan. Bowling published photography, poetry,
and nonfiction, as well as short fiction in numerous publications. Her short story, Tattoo, was
selected for inclusion in the North Carolina PBS Playhouse 30 (TV dramas based on short
stories). The Memory of Flight, her debut novel, was published in December 2014 by Little
Feather Books (NY), and was awarded the 2015 Georgia Author of the Year Award for First
Novel by the Georgia Writers Association. Story Circle Book Reviews awarded the novel five
stars in a review in June 2016 and chose it as an editor's pick for two consecutive months.
Purchase Debbie Bowling's novel Memory of Flight: available at most online booksellers such as bookshop.org.
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Listen to Debra Bowling's SOREN LIT interview: https://anchor.fm/melodie-rodgers/episodes/Debra-Bowling--SOREN-LIT-FALL-Issue-2021-e1biv15