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| Terry Kay | |
Terry Kay, "a masterful storyteller and author of the internationally acclaimed novel To Dance with the White Dog," died December 12, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. He was 82. Kay wrote his first book after Pat Conroy, "unbeknownst to Kay, convinced a high-powered literary agent in New York City that Kay had written a brilliant manuscript," AJC noted. "Conroy's ruse came to light when Kay received a letter from the agent, requesting to see the manuscript."
"I had not written a word," Kay said. "I yelled at (Conroy). I cursed him. I had no interest in writing a novel." Nevertheless, he spent two months writing 150 pages. "To my shock and horror and great surprise, they offered me a small contract and a small advance to write a novel based on one vignette in that book. And that's how I came to be a writer."
Houghton Mifflin released The Year the Lights Came On in 1976. Kay would go on to publish 18 books, including a collection of essays and two children's titles. "Limited to no one genre, his novels tend toward stories of love and loss set in the rural South told with compassion and a touch of nostalgia," AJC wrote.
His fourth novel, To Dance with the White Dog (1990), sold millions of copies and was adapted into a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie starring Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy in 1993. Two other books were also adapted for the screen: The Valley of Light (2007), which won the Townsend Prize for Fiction, and The Runaway (1997). His last book, The Forever Wish of Middy Sweet, was published by Mercer University Press this past August.
Kay's many honors include induction into the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame, the Georgia Author of the Year Award, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Georgia Writers Association and the Governor's Award in the Humanities.
In a tribute, Loran Smith wrote in the Gwinnett Daily Post: "He was of the good neighbor ilk. He was always offering encouragement to others in his profession. If he liked your work, he would let you know. If he didn't, he quietly moved on, never bashing another's musings. His resume confirms he was an accomplished writer and novelist. And, now a week after he left this world, I am finally going to take issue with him. Whether he agrees or not, he does leave a legacy--one that is honorable and cloaked in modesty."