| Billie Letts | |
|---|---|
| Born | Billie Dean Gipson (1938-05-30)May 30, 1938 Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Died | August 2, 2014(2014-08-02) (aged 76) Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Novelist, educator |
| Spouse |
Dennis Letts
(m. 1958; died 2008) |
| Children | 3; including Tracy |
Billie Dean Letts (née Gipson; May 30, 1938 – August 2, 2014) was an American novelist and educator. She was a professor at Southeastern Oklahoma State University.
Biography
Letts was born as Billie Dean Gipson in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the daughter of Virginia M. (née Barnes), a secretary, and William C. Gipson.
She married Dennis Letts, a professor and actor, in 1958. The couple had three children: Dana, Tracy (a playwright), and Shawn (a jazz musician/composer). Dennis Letts served as editor for his wife's novels. He died of lung cancer in Tulsa on February 22, 2008, aged 73.
Letts died in a Tulsa hospital from pneumonia on August 2, 2014, aged 76. She had recently been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia.
Novels
- Where the Heart Is (1995)
- The Honk and Holler Opening Soon (1998)
- Shoot the Moon (2004)
- Made in the U.S.A. (2008)
Awards and honors
- 1994 Walker Percy Award
- 1996 Oklahoma Book Award
- 1998 Oprah's Book Club – Best Novel nominee – Where the Heart Is
References
- ^ "TV and film actor Dennis Letts dies". Tulsa World. 2008-02-24. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
- "Letts, Billie 1938–". highbeam.com. Archived from the original on 11 June 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
- Letts family information Archived April 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, twbookmark.com; accessed August 13, 2014.
- Excerpt from Playbill Archived March 30, 2008, at the Wayback Machine; accessed August 13, 2014.
- ^ "Dennis Letts, 73, a Professor Who Became Broadway Actor, Dies". New York Times. Associated Press. 2008-02-25. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
- Obituary for Billie Letts, nytimes.com, August 5, 2014; accessed August 13, 2014.
- Dee Duren. "Best-Selling Oklahoma Author Billie Letts Dies". NewsOn6.com. Retrieved 2014-08-05.
- "Billie Letts". www.fantasticfiction.co.uk.
- "Interview With Billie Letts". Archived from the original on 2014-02-28. Retrieved 2007-04-27.
External links
- Author interview: Billie Letts at Hachette Book Group USA
- Interview With Billie Letts Archived 2014-02-28 at the Wayback Machine (July 2004)
- Letts, Billie Dean Gipson (1938–2014) in the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture
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- 1938 births
- 2014 deaths
- 20th-century American novelists
- 21st-century American novelists
- American women novelists
- Writers from Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Southeastern Oklahoma State University faculty
- Deaths from pneumonia in Oklahoma
- Novelists from Oklahoma
- Deaths from cancer in Oklahoma
- 20th-century American women writers
- 21st-century American women writers
- 20th-century American women academics
- 20th-century American academics
- American novelist, 1930s birth stubs
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