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Colette Bancroft - Copy Desk Chief and Books Critic

Copy Desk Chief and Books Critic

I was the kid whose mother said, “Put down that book, go outside and play.” I grew up in Tampa, earned degrees in English at the University of South Florida and University of Florida, and taught literature and writing for more than a decade. Then I switched to journalism, working for the Arizona Daily Star and, since 1997, for the Tampa Bay Times as an editor, reporter and critic. In 2007, I became the Times’ book editor, writing reviews, interviewing authors and helping to direct the annual Times Festival of Reading. I served two terms on the board of the National Book Critics Circle. I live in St. Petersburg with my dog, Marlowe, and cat, Isabel. When I’m not reading, I’m traveling or painting.

  1. Tommy Orange's new novel is "Wandering Stars."
  2. Percival Everett's latest novel is "James."
  3. Lisa Unger
  4. FILE - In this Feb. 15, 2011, file photo, President Barack Obama presents a 2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom to U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington. Lewis, who carried the struggle against racial discrimination from Southern battlegrounds of the 1960s to the halls of Congress, died Friday, July 17, 2020. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
  5. David Finkel's new book is "An American Dreamer."
  6. Vicki Sokolik is the author of "If You See Them: Young, Unhoused, and Alone in America."
  7. Hank Phillippi Ryan's latest thriller is "One Wrong Word."
  8. Author James Lee Burke's new story collection is "Harbor Lights."
  9. Andre Dubus III
  10. Katherine Snow Smith's new book is "Stepping on the Blender."
  11. James McBride is the author of "The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store."
  12. Dec. 21, 2023• Books
    "Small Mercies" by Dennis Lehane
  13. Kirsten Hines is a biologist, photographer and author of "Wild Florida: An Animal Odyssey."
  14. Paul Lynch, winner of the 2023 Booker Prize, poses for the media with his trophy following the presentation ceremony in London on Nov. 26, 2023. The Booker Prize is awarded to the best sustained work of fiction written in English and published in the UK and Ireland, in the opinion of the judges. Lynch won with his book "Prophet Song."
  15. In interviews, Tim Dorsey credited his journalism career as a rich source for his fiction, providing both his encyclopedic knowledge of Florida lore and his familiarity with bizarre crimes.
  16. Behind the Seams cover
  17. Rebecca Renner is the author of "Gator Country."
  18. President John F. Kennedy's motorcade travels along Lafayette Street where it splits off from Grand Central (now named Kennedy Boulevard) in Tampa on Nov. 18, 1963. Four days later, his assassination in Dallas shocked the nation.
  19. Resurrection Walk cover
  20. Michael Connelly is one of the headliners for the 2023 Tampa Bay Times Festival of Reading.
  21. The stage is set for the 2023 Tampa Bay Times Festival of Reading.
  22. Oct. 26, 2023• Entertainment
    Fran Lebowitz will be at the David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa on Nov. 4.
  23. Vanessa Riley's latest book is "Murder in Drury Lane."