Professor Emeritus of English at Davidson College and vice president of the North Carolina Writers Network, Abbott’s writing passions include modern drama, religion and literature, and creative writing with an emphasis on poetry. He has published two books on modern drama and four poetry compilations, and won the Novello Prize for his first novel, Leaving Maggie Hope, published in 2003. Author Lee Smith described this semi-autobiographical novel as “the most moving coming-of-age story I have read in many years.” Novelist Patricia Cornwell — a 1979 graduate of Davidson and a student of Abbott’s — described the book as “touching and riveting.” Thanks to such high praise, Abbott has remained quite busy lately, reading from his work and speaking to book clubs in and beyond the Charlotte area.