Sourwood Forest hosted two writers this summer: Ann Marie Halstead and Catherine Simpson. Ann Marie is a professor, storyteller, and New Yorker currently living in Virginia. Her work has been featured in HuffPost, Medium, and 30Seconds. She is also the author of an award-winning children’s book, Bucket Filling Fairy, inspired by one of the characters in her play Have You Filled a Bucket Today? The play has been produced at theatre companies and schools across the U.S. and had its international premiere in Queensland, Australia. Ann Marie is currently working on a memoir and her second play (for grown-ups). Catherine Simpson is a writer and editor who lives in the shadows of the Blue Ridge Mountains with her cat and occasional creative muse, Mauka. Most recently, her writing can be found in Wallstraight, a literary journal for weird fiction, and in Charlottesville Fantastic, an anthology of short fantasy stories. Catherine is a developmental and copy editor for Whitaker Lyon, a small press in Broadway, Virginia, and she also provides freelance editing and proofreading services. Catherine is currently working on a Southern Gothic novel, among other things. In her free time, she enjoys wandering, looking at trees, and daydreaming about her next project. See What Writers-in-Residence Say about Sourwood Forest, Summer 2025
