Lauretta Hannon

Georgia Connections

• Warner Robins, Houston County

Notes of Interest

Lauretta Hannon's memoir, "The Cracker Queen: A Memoir of a Jagged, Joyful Life," is her second book, and it has been chosen for inclusion on the Georgia Center for the Book's 2010 list of "25 Books All Georgians Should Read." She says of this honor, "I can't imagine anything more important than being on a list of books that the people of my home state are being urged to read. That's very pleasing to any author."

Lauretta Hannon was born August 11, 1968, in Warner Robins, where she grew up. She was graduated from Northside High School and received a B.A. in comparative literature at the University of Georgia. She held a number of jobs including working as the vice president of an advertising agency, a newspaper columnist, a cocktail waitress, a fortune teller and a writing instructor. She was a contributing writer to Maria Shriver's Women's Conference and "Cobb Life" magazine. She acquired national celebrity with her commentaries on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered, and she has been a popular storyteller on Georgia Public Radio since 2000. She has won a number of awards for her work in the marketing and communication fields, and makes a dynamic, vivid public appearance when she speaks in behalf of her book.

"The Cracker Queen" was published in 2009 and recounted the stories of her dysfunctional family in Warner Robins and the numerous colorful characters who popped into her life. She triumphed over personal hardships, experiences that gave her a resilience and humor that are the hallmarks of her writing and her life.

She lives in Powder Springs, a town whose history she documented in a picture-and-text history in 2004, "Images of America: Powder Springs." She is active in the area historical society and in 2009 received an award from the Georgia State Archives for her work documenting the African American history of the town.

Further Reading

Lauretta Hannon Home Page