Neil White has been a newspaper editor, magazine publisher, advertising executive and federal prisoner. He lives in Oxford, Mississippi, where he operates a small publishing company, writes plays and essays, and teaches memoir writing.
His memoir, In the Sanctuary of Outcasts (Morrow/HarperCollins), about the year he lived with the last victims of leprosy in the continental United States, was described by Publisher’s Weekly as “Brisk, ironic, perceptive . . . White’s introspective memoir puts a magnifying glass to a flawed life, revealing that all of life is to be savored and respected.” Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Olen Butler added, “At once surreal and grittily naturalistic, funny and poignant, White’s tale is fascinating and full of universal resonance.”
In the Sanctuary of Outcasts was a finalist in the 2010 Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance “Book of the Year” award. In 2010, White won the Outstanding Author of the Year from the Southern Library Association. Barnes & Noble honored White as one of the top three emerging nonfiction authors in America through their “Discover Great New Writers” program.
Foreign language translations of In the Sanctuary of Outcasts have been published in Germany, Croatia and the Netherlands. Sanctuary was on the Southern Independent bestseller list for nearly four years. The book was selected for Baton Rouge’s One Book, One Community program. It was also selected for the common reading experience at Davidson College, Hilbert College, St. Bonaventure University and Michigan Tech.
White’s essays have appeared in dozens of literary journals and magazines. He has contributed to The Oxford American, National Geographic and The Encyclopedia of Southern Culture.
White serves as Creative Director & Publisher at The Nautilus Publishing Company. He has published and edited more than 30 books. Most recently, he edited Robert Khayat’s The Education of a Lifetime. In 2014, the book was honored with the IPPY Silver Award for the best national memoir published by a small press.
White is married to Deborah Hodges Bell, the Interim Dean of the law school at The University of Mississippi. They have three children — Lindsay Bell, Neil White IV, and Maggie White.
Ted J. Duckworth is Co-Manager of TDLDC, and President and CEO of Duckworth Realty, Inc. Ted has been the architect of the company's recent growth into development projects and has provided a vision for the company's downtown revitalization efforts in Jackson, Mississippi. This vision carries over into the overall company philosophy of making a difference in the community where we live and work. His $16 million renovation of the mixed-use Electric 308 Building in 2005 sparked an interest in downtown development and created an atmosphere of energy in the downtown market.
Ted has coordinated the acquisition of multiple investment properties throughout the southeast totaling over $150 million. The transactions have allowed Duckworth Realty to expand its operations across the region, with projects located in Jackson, Shreveport, Baton Rouge, Mobile, Pensacola, Gulf Breeze and Atlanta.
Ted is a recognized leader of economic development in Metro-Jackson. He has served as Chairman of The Board of Downtown Jackson Partners which manages the Central Business District, and on the Downtown Strategic Plan for the City of Jackson. He currently also serves as President of the Eastover Neighborhood Association.