GWEN BANTA - BIOGRAPHY
Born in Binghamton, NY, Gwen Banta received B.A. and M.S. degrees from Butler University and earned a language certification from The Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California. Her first novel, “The Fly Strip,” is a coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of the racial and social unrest of rural Indiana in 1960. Filled with humor as well as pathos, “The Fly Strip," published in 2016, has received great critical acclaim.
The author has received numerous awards for her fiction, including the Opus Magnum Discovery Award for New Literature-Honorable Mention. She is the winner in the Unpublished Stories category in multiple book festivals throughout the nation and abroad: Great Northwest Book Festival, Los Angeles Book Festival, Pacific Rim Book Festival, San Francisco Book Festival, and the Great Southeast Book Festival. The author has also written several screenplays and has placed in the Writer’s Project, Columbine International Screenwriting Competition, Ohio Film Festival and the People’s Pilot project.
An award-winning actress of stage, screen, and television, Gwen is a member of SAG-AFTRA and Equity. When not writing, Gwen is a top producing Global Advisor and real estate specialist for Sotheby’s International Realty, where she represents many major musicians. Gwen is an avid supporter of Global Green International and resides in Los Angeles with her dog, Buddy, who is a major fan of all her books.