The Carillon

Authors & Editors

Richard Morgan, B.S.’69, recently published his fourth book of poetry, Hebrew Lessons – Poems from my Jewish Heart. The collection of poems addresses being human, spirituality, the Bible and God. Hebrew Lessons seeks an audience who like poetry, or may not even know they like it, but are interested in the challenge of being human and spiritual at the same time. Morgan has written for 50 years; he currently resides in Beach Haven, N.J.

Paula Camardella Twomey, B.A.’70, is the author of several books, including Ten Fairy Tales in Latin. Twomey lives in Ithaca, N.Y., where she works for the Ithaca City School District.

Mitchell Silver, B.A.’71, has recently published his third book, The Veterans of History: A Young Person’s History of the Jews. Silver has taught philosophy at the University of Massachusetts/Boston since 1982. He lives in Newton, Mass.

Edward Lopatin, B.A.’74, M.P.A.’76, is the author of How To Survive Your Vacation: Eighty Surefire Recommendations To Make Sure You Have A Great Time And Return Home In One Piece. The book includes 20 true stories about Lopatin’s travels to 53 countries and 35 states, along with important travel-survival strategies, including staying healthy; buying travel insurance; avoiding pickpockets, burglars, and unscrupulous merchants; and learning the culture and language of the country you are visiting. 

Michelle Edwards, B.A.’76, is the author of Max Makes a Cake, one many children’s books she’s published in recent years. An award-winning author and illustrator, Edwards will publish her next picture book, A Hat for Mrs. Goldman, in 2016. More information: http://www.michelledwards.com. 

Manuel A. Ossers, M.A.’78, Ph.D.’87, published Estudios Literarios Dominicanos. The book is a selected compilation of 14 of Ossers’ published articles and conference papers
on the literature of the Dominican Republic. It includes an inside illustration by his daughter, Cristina K. Ossers, a junior at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Ossers is a professor of Spanish language and Spanish-American literature and culture at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. 

Vincent Aiello, B.A., ’81, released his second legal thriller, The Litigation Guy. The story involves a terrorist threat against the Coronado Bay Bridge in San Diego. Aiello is
also the author of the acclaimed best-seller Legal Detriment. 

Peter Bannigan, M.B.A.’82, is the author of Awakening: Nikey & Tee and Holy Evil: Nikey & Tee, both adult sci-fi/fantasy e-books. In Awakening, Nikey and Tee discover they are Celtic witches in the pagan tradition with abilities to manipulate energy. The Church is convinced Nikey is the reason for the perversion infecting its clergy. In Holy Evil, Nikey, Tee and others become aware they are the long-lost survivors of a mythical Celtic tribe that explains their powers as they battle the Church, the special unit dedicated to eliminating them.

Karen Amster-Young, B.A.’87, is the co-author of The 52 Weeks: Two Women and Their Quest to Get Unstuck, With Stories and Ideas to Jumpstart Your Year of Discovery. Amster-Young lives in New York City. More information: http://the52weeks.com/. 

Joe Serio, B.A.’87, published the first two of six books in his Get the Nerve series: Overcoming Fear: 50 Lessons on Being Bold and Living the Dream and Public Speaking: 50 Lessons on Presenting Without Losing Your Cool. 

Scott B. Cooper, B.A.’90, is the author of The A to Z of Civil Depositions in Pennsylvania, published by PBI Press. 

Sue Cannone-Calick, B.A.’93, recently co-authored Independent Reading in the Age of the Common Core through Scholastic. Cannone-Calick is a middle-school English language-arts teacher in the Ardsley Middle School, where she has taught for 18 years. She lives in Irvington, N.Y.

Sarah Yaw, B.A.’95, is the author of You Are Free to Go, a 2013 Engine Books Novel Prize winner and her first novel. She shares that one of the characters in You Are Free to Go is a UAlbany alum. Yaw’s novel is available for pre-order at Amazon.com and will be released in September. More information: www.sarahyaw.com.

Jennifer Degl, B.S.’99, is the author of From Hope to Joy: A Memoir of a Mother’s Determination and Her Micro Preemie’s Struggle to Beat the Odds. Degl shares the story of her life-threatening pregnancy; the miracle birth of her daughter, Joy, at 23 weeks; and the four months in the NICU that followed. Degl aims to provide hope to women struggling with high-risk pregnancies, encourage expectant mothers to educate themselves before electing cesarean deliveries, provide families of premature babies a realistic look at what lies ahead in their NICU journey, and show that miracles can happen and hope can turn into joy. More information: www.fromhopetojoy.com.

Cara Long, B.A.’01, published her first collection of short stories, Partly Gone, in June. A graduate of the English program, she participated in a short-fiction workshop series conducted by James Lasdun at the New York State Writers Institute in 2012. Long’s collection of stories was begun with a piece written for the workshop. More information: www.unsolicitedpress.com.