John Jakes

John Jakes is the bestselling author of Charleston, the eight-volume Kent Family Chronicles, the North and South trilogy, California Gold, and others. He has received a number of awards and accolades fo his achievements as a writer, most notably a Cooper Medal from the Thomas Cooper Library and a Career Achievement Award from the South Carolina Humanities Association. He is a member of the Authors Guild, the Dramatists Guild, and serves on the board of the Authors Guild Foundation. A graduate of DePauw and Ohio State universities, Jakes currently lives in South Carolina and Florida.