About

Alamo Bay Press

We are a cooperative press publishing works of high literary merit that celebrate life, the arts, and education. We work closely with our authors to fully develop their visions and we aim to build a community of readers and writers who are actively engaged in the world.

Who We Are

Lowell Mick White, PhD, Editor & CO-FOUNDER

Lowell Mick White is the author of seven books: That Demon Life, Long Time Ago Good, Professed, Burnt House, The Messes We Make of Our Lives, Normal School, and Answers Without Questions. A winner of the Dobie-Paisano Fellowship and a member of the Texas Institute of Letters, White received his PhD from Texas A&M University. His work has been published in many journals, including Callaloo, Iron Horse Literary Review, and Short Story, and he’s won the Dobie-Paisano Fellowship, awarded by the University of Texas at Austin and the Texas Institute of Letters. He has at various times made his living working as a cab driver, as a shade tree salesman, and as an Internal Revenue Service bureaucrat. He has also served as the National Endowment for the Arts Artist-in-Residence at the federal prison in Bryan, Texas, and as Production Editor for Callaloo, a journal of African-American and African Diasporic art and literature. White teaches creative writing at Texas A&M University.

Pamela Booton, Director & CO-FOUNDER

Pamela Booton is a longtime Austin resident who is active as an arts advocate and as a financial consultant with Dominion Investor Services. She has degrees in mathematics and actuarial science from UT Austin and helps numerous clients in higher education in the Austin area with their retirement investments. Pamela is the founding director of the Alamo Bay Press and Alamo Bay Writers' Workshop. Pamela was associate producer of the oral history documentary Seadrift Fishermen Legacy Project and the organizer of the Texas Louisiana Gulf Coast Shindig. She is also a consultant for and board member of the Mos Chukma Institute, which promotes trauma healing through art, including years of art therapy provided to children at the King School in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans. Pamela is an associate producer of the documentary Radio Taboo, helping provide community radio to the home village of artist/activist Issa Nyaphaga in Cameroon, West Africa. She is a member of the Austin Documentary Fans and serves on the board of Issue TV. Pamela lives in Austin with her husband, Javier.

Diane Wilson, Activist & CO-FOUNDER

Diane Wilson, a fourth-generation shrimper, began fishing the bays off the Gulf Coast of Texas at the age of eight. By twenty-four she was a boat captain. In 1989, while running her brother's fish house at the docks and mending nets, she read a newspaper article that listed her home of Calhoun County as the number one toxic polluter in the country. She set up a meeting in the town hall to discuss what the chemical plants were doing to the bays and thus began her life as an environmental activist. Her work on behalf of the people and aquatic life of Seadrift, Texas, has won her a number of awards including: National Fisherman Magazine Award, Mother Jones's Hell Raiser of the Month, Lois Gibbs' Environmental Lifetime Award, Louisiana Environmental Action (LEAN) Environmental Award, Giraffe Project, Jenifer Altman Award, Blue Planet Award, and the Bioneers Award. Co-founder of Texas Jail Project, Diane Wilson continues to lead the fight for social justice. In her pursuit of social justice, human rights and saving the environment, Diane Wilson has spoken out with 13 hunger fasts and 40 arrests. Diane is the author of three books: An Unreasonable Woman, Diary of an Eco-Outlaw, and Holy Roller; she is completing a fourth about the tragedy of the commercial fishermen. Her acclaimed writing captures the imagination and the conscience of us all.

Ken Fontenot, Consulting Editor

Ken Fontenot received an MA in German Language and Literature from the University of Texas at Austin and studied in Freiburg, Germany under a DAAD fellowship in 1986-87. His second book of poems, All My Animals and Stars, won the Austin Book Award, and his poetry collection In a Kingdom of Birds won the 2012 Texas Institute of Letters award for best poetry book in Texas. In 2015 a fourth book of poems, Just a Trace of Moon, appeared from Pinyon Publishing. His translations of contemporary German poems have appeared widely. A New Orleans native, Fontenot lives and works in Austin.

Lisa Walsh, Consulting Editor

Lisa Walsh received a PhD in French and Philosophy from The University of Texas at Austin. She has taught at the University of Nottingham in the UK and at Southwestern University in Texas, and has worked as an editor and translator with Oxford University Press, Routledge, and Cambridge University Press. Dr. Walsh has worked in France, Germany, England, and the US. Currently she lives in Austin, Texas.

REJI THOMAS, ARTIST

Renowned artist Reji Thomas lives and creates in Austin, Texas. Her acclaimed artwork is held in private and public collections around the world, including State gifts to the Queen of England and President Salinas of Mexico. Clients have included Barbara Jordan, Ann Richards, B.B. King, area corporate headquarters, educational institutions, hospitals, churches, hotels and the Texas State Capitol. Reji Thomas owned and managed celebrated entertainment venue and art studio Pine Street Station for over 35 years. She took SXSW to the Eastside with Fader Fort, hosting performers such as Amy Winehouse and Kanye West. Reji's studio was a major hub of EAST (East Austin Studio Tour), hosting over 100 artists annually. She provided the base for HOPE Farmers' Market and launched Alamo Bay Writer's ' Workshop. In addition to creating brilliant art, Reji has used her genius to improve the lives of countless people. She is a creative force of Alamo Bay Press and an Austin living legend.

DR. HAZEL WARD, ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER (1943-2020)

Dr. Hazel Ward was the ultimate educator, poet, writer, and humanist. Born in Plaquemine, Louisiana, Dr. Ward is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Woodrow Wilson fellowship and Ford Foundation grant. She has taught at colleges and universities throughout the Austin and Houston area. Her career has taken her from roles as scholar to professor to Austin Community College dean. Dr. Ward recently retired from her official role in academia, devoting herself to reading, writing, sharing her insights, and being the great mother, grandmother, friend and community member we admire and love. Our beloved Hazel passed away in 2020, yet still offers guidance. How many times do we ask, "What would Hazel say?"

DR. BARBARA LEWIS, ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER

Barbara Williams Lewis, PhD, is an author and a poet. She earned her doctorate degree from University of Southern California after receiving the Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship for Minorites and USC’s All University Fellowship. Lewis has taught courses at USC, University of Oregon at Eugene, California State University at Northridge, Los Angeles City College, and University of Texas at Austin. She is currently Professor of English at Austin Community College in Round Rock, Texas.

Dr. Lewis has won numerous awards for her academic achievements. She has been mentored by Dr. Ronald Gottesman, Carol Muske Dukes and T. C. Boyle. Her memoir, Sherrod Village, chronicles the struggles she endured and the obstacles she overcame in her pursuits of an education. She lives in Del Valle, Texas

STEPHANIE MOORE, ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER

Stephanie Moore, the visionary lead designer behind Gemini Crown Tech’s Production Value software, has laid the very foundation for the exceptional programs and products offered by the company. Her diverse background, spanning over a decade, is a testament to her multifaceted expertise in script development, budgeting, script coverage, festival consulting, filmmaker development, and the seamless execution of live events and film productions. Recently adding an MBA from St. Edward’s University to her list of achievements, Stephanie is not only a creative force but a strategic thinker with a comprehensive understanding of business dynamics. In her undergraduate studies, Stephanie’s outstanding contributions to the university earned her the Texas State Leadership Institute’s Medal of Hope, the highest non-academic honor as well as a degree within the Honors College. Stephanie Moore embodies the spirit of innovation and excellence in the entertainment industry. Stephanie’s impact resonates throughout the industry, ensuring a bright future where creativity and technology converge seamlessly.

DOROTHY ELLIS BARNETT, ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER

Dorothy Ellis Barnett is a highly respected poet and writer, Michener fellow, MFA, professor, editor, and co-founder of the Round Top Poetry Festival. She is the author of numerous published works, including her fascinating memoir, Road Songs. Ms. Barnett is an active Austin community member, bridge player, businesswoman, mother, grandmother, and friend. Alamo Bay Press benefits greatly from her experience, insights and advice.

SIENNA WARD, CREATIVE STAFF

Native Austinite Sienna Elisabeth Ward brings her creative and artistic talents to Alamo Bay Press. Sienna earned her degree in Early Childhood Education and currently works at Austin Community College. She provides the art designs and concierge services of her company Sienna Elisabeth.

JAVIER BOOTON, ABP PARTNER

Habitats for Nature owner, Javier Booton, keeps us honest, smiling, and removes rose colored glasses when necessary.