Featuring
Denise Kiernan is an author, journalist, producer, and host of “CRAFT: Authors in Conversation.” Her new young reader’s book, We Gather Together: Stories of Thanksgiving from then to now, arrived September 2023, and is a companion title to the popular adult nonfiction book, We Gather Together, and children’s picture book, Giving Thanks. Her book The Last Castle was an instant New York Times bestseller in both hardcover and paperback and was also a Wall Street Journal bestseller. She is also the author of The Girls of Atomic City, which is a New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and NPR bestseller and has been published in multiple languages. She lives in North Carolina.
ANIMATOR/DIRECTOR Christopher has worked as an animator on feature films for Walt Disney Feature Animation, DreamWorks, and Rhythm & Hues. Among his credits are the films Dinosaur, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, Scooby Doo, Men in Black II, and Stuart Little 2. Christopher has also served as an animation director at EA Games, working on the Medal of Honor series. Christopher also directed and animated the popular Penny cartoons for Pee-wee's Playhouse, on CBS. As a commercial director and animator, Christopher has created ads for Budweiser (Bud Bowl I and Bud Bowl II), Arm & Hammer, Pillsbury, Hershey's Kisses, EKCO Baker's Secret, JC Penney, Flintstones Vitamins, Disney Vacation Club, and countless others. Christopher also animated the "Into the Groove" number for Madonna's Sticky and Sweet world tour. PAINTER/PHOTOGRAPHER Christopher is a fine art painter and photographer, focusing mostly on portraiture and nudes. Since the age of 11, Christopher has tried to capture the subject's personality in the images he creates. In 2008, Christopher began painting a series he calls "Faces of Change," featuring portraits of leaders in the struggle for LGBTQ equality. He continues to paint portraits for this series. EDUCATOR Christopher teaches animation full time in the department of New Media at UNC Asheville. He began teaching as an adjunct in 2009, and over the years has risen to the rank of tenured associate professor. Christopher oversees the Animation track, teaching all levels of the fundamentals of character animation, 3D digital and character design, modeling and rigging. He also teaches the largest class on campus, his popular History of Animation: Pencils to Pixels lecture course. At UNC Asheville, Christopher's undergraduate research endeavor, The Virtual Lincoln Project, has garnered national and even international attention and recognition. HISTORIAN Christopher has a life-long passion for history. Since the age of 5, Christopher has been obsessed with Abraham Lincoln and has spent much of his life researching Lincoln's life. In 2013 this focus took on new dimensions. Christopher launched an undergraduate research endeavor called The Virtual Lincoln Project. Christopher and his students are digitally creating a photo-real Abraham Lincoln and animating him delivering the Gettysburg Address. While doing research into existing photographs for the project, Christopher discovered a previously unknown image of Abraham Lincoln standing in the crowd at Gettysburg. Smithsonian Magazine and USA Today broke the story, and it quickly went viral online, in print, and on television. Christopher continues his research and is currently writing journal papers and a book about it. PERSONAL LIFE Christopher and his husband, Bruce C. Steele, live in Fairview, NC. There they spend their time watching movies and taking care of a house and gardens, and they are the happy fathers of two cats, Gandalf and Strider.