One of the greatest and most celebrated Southern writers of his day, George Washington Cable (1844-1925) helped lead the local color movement of the late 1800s with his pioneering use of dialect and his skill in the short-story form. After serving in the Civil War, he began to write for the New Orleans Picayune. Cable has been called the most important Southern artist working in the late-nineteenth century, as well as the first modern Southern writer. Julie Dupré Buckner is an award-winning artist who specializes in painting, portrait art, illustration, and design. Buckner received a bachelor of fine arts in graphic design from Louisiana Tech University and studied art in Italy. She has been honored with numerous awards including an ADDY Award, a national packaging award for Georgie's Old Fashioned Nut Cakes, and praise for her work on advertising campaigns for Rolex USA, Mikimoto, and David Yurman. Her illustrations have been displayed at the Irving Art Center Museum in Texas and Children's Museum in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and her portrait work is held in private collections through the United States. She is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, the Portrait Society of America, the American Society of Portrait Artists, and the Louisiana Art and Artists' Guild. Buckner lives in Plaquemine, Louisiana, with her husband and children.