Elizabeth Spencer

Born in Mississippi, Elizabeth Spencer creates stories that focus on the complex moral problems of small-town families. Some of her most famous works are set in Europe, including the novella The Light in the Piazza (1960), which explores a mother’s dilemma when her disabled daughter finds a suitor. It became a successful Broadway musical in 2005. Spencer taught creative writing at UNC from 1986 to 1992 and still lives in Chapel Hill.