Mary Dean Cason

Growing up on the front porches of North Carolina put Mary Dean Cason in a prime spot to absorb the art of storytelling. She made her way to Chicago where a series of careers including flight attendant, occupational therapist, medical writer, and best of all, mother prepared her to write fiction. In 2000, her story, "What Solomon Saw" became a finalist in Chicago Public Radio's "Stories on Stage," in time, spurring her to enroll at the University of Chicago's Writers Studio where she won the 2008 prize for fiction. Since then, she has been a featured performer at Chicago’s Story Club, This Much is True, and Story Sessions. She is a co-founder of the San Miguel de Allende International Storytelling Festival, and other live-lit, spoken word forums. Mary Dean recently took second place in the Chicago Writers Association First Chapter prize for her recently completed novel, Banished Daughters of Eve.  Her book What Solomon Saw and Other Stories is available at Amazon.com.