Billie Letts is a writer who attempts to capture small-town life in Oklahoma through such books as Where the Heart Is and The Honk and Holler Opening Soon. Letts was formerly a professor at Southeastern Oklahoma State University and has taught creative writing. Her first novel, Where the Heart Is, about n abandoned mother-to-be who is cared for by citizens of a small Oklahoma town, brought Letts quick recognition. It was one of the 1996 Books for the Teen Age selected by the New York Public Library, and received the 1996 Oklahoma Books Award, and the Walker Percy Award. Letts has also successfully published screenplays and short stories. Billie Letts is a native of Oklahoma, where she lives with her husband, Dennis.