Native to the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina, Connie Gunter draws from her family history to tell of the richness and challenges of mountain life.  One of her chapters from her family’s tales was published in the 2014 issue of The Great Smokies Review entitled, “The Taking of Diamond Crowe." Gunter’s essay entitled “Degrees of Poor” was the 2015 Non-Fiction Prize winner sponsored by the New Southerner and nominated for a 2017 Pushcart Prize. Her latest story, Icicles, was chosen as one of ten finalists for the 2017 Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize.