“Publication” Class Notes

Timothy Shelley (Grad ’98) has written two books, Stories When Little: Growing Up Under MK-ULTRA and Playboy’s Progress: Coming of Age Under MK-ULTRA, which are available for free at his website, Fighting Monarch, which now has more than one million hits. The books are an epic detective story exploring the themes of memory, forgetting, sexual programming, personal and national identity, globalism, and their intersection with conspiracy theories.

Lloyd F. Stamy Jr. (Col ’73 CM) published his newest book, Strangers No More, a sequel to Reunion of Strangers published in 2018. Interwoven plots of passion and patriotism collide in this gripping drama of global cyberwarfare and looming economic enslavement. Stamy serves up a riveting tale of intrigue, espionage, cyberterrorism, betrayal, revenge, the dethronement of an American president, and a reconciliation of anxious hearts and flawed psyches – all during the throes of a global pandemic. He lives in Fox Chapel, a suburb of Pittsburgh, and the direct link to his author page is: 

www.amazon.com/author/lloyd.stamy

Richard F. McGonegal (Grad ’75 CM) published a mystery novel, Sense of Grace. While attending UVA, he studied creative writing with Peter Taylor, who later won a Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University in 1973. McGonegal and his wife, Kristie, live in Jefferson City, Missouri, where their two adult daughters, Heather and Jane, also live. He retired in 2017 after a 41-year journalism career at the Jefferson City News Tribune, a daily newspaper in Missouri’s capital city. Twenty-four of his short stories have been published in magazines, including Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine.

Ian Jenkins (Col ’97, Med ’01) has published his first book, Three Dads and a Baby: Adventures in Modern Parenting, a memoir about becoming the first polyamorous family recognized as the legal parents of a child anywhere in the world. Learn about the legal, personal and health struggles the family overcame on their journey to being proud parents of two amazing children. The story has been covered in the Huffington Post, CNN, DailyMail, numerous blogs and podcasts, and international media from Latin America to Spain, Austria, and Australia.  

John B. Gordon III (Col ’95, Educ ’00 CM) published his first book, The Teacher’s Lounge: The Real Role of Educators in Your Schools. The semi-autobiographical book describes the impact of educational decisions from our past, and how local and national pop culture and political events changed the culture in education. This is not your typical book about education that overwhelms the reader with research, while not thinking about the practical application in schools. Instead, readers will be provided with insight into how education has changed based on everyday experiences, the increased levels of accountability, and the influence of social media and technology in schools and student lives. The Teacher’s Lounge further looks at the role each stakeholder plays in education, and how those roles work together and unfortunately, sometimes are in opposition of each other. From the growing diversity in schools in the 1970’s, to the effect of Reagonomics in the 1980’s, the educational system became the platform for politics. The influx of reality television and music in the 1990’s, and the effect of technology and social media in the 2000’s, gave all audiences a broad view of what it is like to be a student in school today. The Teacher’s Lounge is guaranteed to make you laugh, reflect, and begin the debate on what is needed for the future of education.

Gerry Kruger (Educ ’83 CM) released her third book, On Kruger Pond: Charlie’s Legacy, about an unforgettable goose who formed a special bond with Kruger while overcoming setbacks and challenges. This book offers readers updates about three generations of his descendants. Her second book, Two of Us: A Father-Daughter Memoir, traces the ways in which her father’s compassion for others and dedication to service shaped her own life and beliefs.

Ashley Bristow Bartley (Col ’06) published her first two children’s books in a social emotional learning picture book series with Boys Town Press: Diamond Rattle Loves to Tattle  and Opal Octopus Is Overwhelmed. Bartley was featured in The Winner’s Circle by The Institute for Writers. Her other publications include articles featured in The Joyful Life Magazine, Kindred Mom, Bright Futures Counseling, and Boys Town Press. 

Hayden Saunier (Col ’79 CM) published her fifth collection of poetry, A Cartography of Home. Her other poetry books include How to Wear This Body, Say Luck, Tips for Domestic Travel, and a chapbook, “Field Trip to the Underworld.” Her work has been awarded the Pablo Neruda Prize, Rattle Poetry Prize, Gell Poetry Award, published in numerous journals, (including Beloit Poetry Journal, Tar River Poetry, and VQR), featured on Poetry Daily and read by Garrison Keillor on The Writer’s Almanac. 

Yolanda Burrell Taylor (Col ’76) has published her seventh book of poetry; she writes as Y.B. Taylor. As an African American woman, her poetry provides insights, truths, history etc. of growing up and experiencing life in segregated and integrated America—the highs, the lows, the disparity the bias. She provides footnotes/endnotes to assist those who are unfamiliar with African American experiences, African American history and commonly used idioms in African American communities. Every poem is preceded by an epigraph, which provides insight into the focus of the poem. Taylor’s books of poetry are available through Amazon, her website, and the gift shop at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. 

Victor Deupi (Arch ’86 CM) has published two new books. Cuban Modernism: Mid-Century Architecture 1940-1970, written with Jean-Francois Lejeune focuses on the modernist generation of Cuban architects active from 1940–70 and extols the national and international importance of their architecture and urban works. The second book, Stables: High Design for Horse and Home, produced with the publisher Oscar Riera Ojeda, and distributed by Rizzoli, showcases beautifully designed stables by contemporary architects and designers around the world.

Jack Sutor Jr. (Col ’69) has published a novel and a collection of short stories. Lovers in a Small Cafe is the second part of a novel about the hardships of living decently in a broken world surrounded by troubled people. Like Part I, The Ice Meadows, Lovers is published under the pen name Edmund Burwell. The short story collection, Thanksgiving, is published under his own name. All are available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. He can be reached at mattsdad284@gmail.com.

Robert A. Hilliard (Col ’74 CM) has published two novels, What Are The Odds? The Calculus of Coincidence and All In?…Beware the Cross Currents, as part of the Cutter/Wellington trilogy. The story centers around two rival families steeped in the rich tradition of thoroughbred racing—the Cutters of Leesburg, Virginia, and the Wellingtons of Lexington, Kentucky. Fellow UVA alums will gravitate toward TJ Cutter III, a 1974 graduate of Mr. Jefferson’s academical village. The third book in the series, Life’s Elusive Horizon, is slated for release in the first quarter of 2022. Mr. Hilliard’s first book was a memoir about bringing professional baseball back to NJ in the 1990s.

Anand Yang (Grad ’76) published a new book, Empire of Convicts. The book focuses on male and female Indians incarcerated in Southeast Asia for criminal and political offenses committed in colonial South Asia. A major contribution to histories of crime and punishment, prisons, law, labor, transportation, migration, colonialism, and the Indian Ocean World, the book narrates the experiences of Indian convicts, and shows how they exercised agency in difficult situations, fashioning their own worlds and even becoming “their own warders.” Yang brings long journeys across the ocean to life in a deeply researched and engrossing account that moves fluidly between local and global contexts.

Olga Akopiants (Educ ’22) will publish her first novel, Air Unplugged, a sci-fi book about survival against all of the odds, in April 2021. Her book is available for pre-orders until January 23.

Jim Irving (Col ’76 CM) published his first novel, Friends Like These, the first in a series of three books. The sequel, Friend of a Friend, set to be published next year. Friends Like These is available in print and eBook on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. 

Jeanne LaSala Taylor (Col ’97 CM) published her first children’s book, Just Bunny and the Great Fire Rescue, in February 2020. Based on a true story, this book is a thank you to firefighters everywhere and a portion of the proceeds go to the NYFF Burn Center Foundation. 

Robert Bové (Col ’74 CM) has published his third full-length book of poems, Pandemic Poetry Reader, available on Amazon as Kindle and paperback. He and his wife live in Brooklyn Heights, New York.

L. Flick Hatcher (Col ’77 CM) has published his first novella, The Last Word, an uplifting book about betrayal, forgiveness, healing, hope, resilience, and the power of the human spirit. The Last Word is available in print and ebook versions on Amazon and BookBaby.com  His second book, Telling Tales, will be released in spring 2021. Hatcher is a licensed psychotherapist in private practice in San Francisco, where he lives with his husband, Lou Marano.

John Howard (Col ’83 CM), professor emeritus of arts and humanities at King’s College London, has published his second documentary photobook with University of Valencia Press, Spain. Felling & Pining depicts life, death, faith and doubt in the poorest and most pious parts of the United States—the Deep South piney woods of Alabama and Mississippi.