Mary Alice Monroe

Known for her intimate portrayals of women's lives, Mary Alice Monroe's writing gained added purpose and depth with her books set in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. An active environmentalist, Monroe draws themes for her novels from nature and the parallels with human nature, thus drawing attention to various endangered species and the human connection to the natural world. Mary Alice is involved with several environmental groups and is on the board of the South Carolina Aquarium, the Leatherback Trust, and Charleston Volunteers for Literacy. Her volunteer work with these and other groups provided the inspiration for her novels, The Beach House Trilogy. With the same heart of conservation, Monroe has written two children's picture books, TURTLE SUMMER and A BUTTERFLY CALLED HOPE. The Lowcountry Summer series is her newest endeavor and is set against the backdrop of the Atlantic bottlenose dolphins. THE SUMMER GIRLS, the first book in the series, was released summer 2013 and introduces the complex relationships between three sisters of the Muir family at Sea Breeze, their historic home on Sullivan's Island, S.C. The second installment, THE SUMMER WIND was released in 2014 and book three, THE SUMMER'S END was published in summer 2015, followed by A LOWCOUNTRY WEDDING in May 2016, and the last book in the series, A LOWCOUNTRY CHRISTMAS released in October 2016. Monroe’s new novel, BEACH HOUSE FOR RENT, will be released in June 2017. It will be the final installment of her nationally bestselling Beach House series. Monroe is the author of nearly two dozen novels, several non-fiction titles, and children's books. Her body of work reflects her commitment to the natural world through literature. She is a featured speaker at events, both literary and conservation. Her books have achieved several best seller lists, including the New York Times, SIBA, USA Today and are sold worldwide. Her children’s books received several awards, including the ASPCA Henry Bergh award. Monroe was awarded the SC Center for the Book Award for Fiction and the International Book Award for Green Fiction. In May 2014, she was awarded the Career Achievement Award for mainstream fiction by RT Book Reviews, SW Florida's Distinguished Author Award, and the South Carolina Book Festival Literary Excellence Award.