About Carolyn
Photo courtesy of Lancia E. Smith www.lanciaesmith.com and the C.S. Lewis Foundation www.cslewis.org.
I cut my journalistic teeth at the Associated Press (Capitol Bureau, Austin, Texas), moved on to daily newspapers (Temple, Texas and Annapolis, Maryland), managed communications in two Fortune 50 companies (Alcoa and DEC/Hewlett Packard) plus Lufkin Industries, Inc.
A former college journalism professor, I hold the Bachelor of Journalism degree from The University of Texas at Austin and Master of Arts degree in Communication from Stephen F. Austin State University.
The author of six books and editor/consultant for many others, I have awards from The Wall Street Journal, Society of Professional Journalists, Evangelical Press Association, International Association of Business Communicators, Society for Technical Communication and others.
It has been my privilege to work at the corporate offices for two church denominations (Presbyterians and Southern Baptists), managing publication efforts, including magazines and websites.
I worked on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. as a communication consultant, serving business/industry interests on energy and environmental issues such as the Clean Air Act, publishing my first book, Before the Rainbow: What We Know about Acid Rain.
More recent books have included A Man for All Nations (Christian Publications) and Believing the Promise (a collaboration with Heather Whitestone McCallum, Random House/Doubleday).
My latest book collaboration was with Carole Lewis, national director of First Place 4 Health, on Hope 4 You (Regal). My latest book editing projects have included North Carolina radio host Steve Noble’s autobiography, The Making of a Christian Wacko, and a memoir by Georgia’s sought-after speaker and storyteller, Fiona Page, My Nightlife is 24/7: Turning Tragedy to Triumph.
During the 1990s I reported from Washington D.C. on legislation and issues of interest to evangelicals for Christianity Today, Focus on the Family’s Citizen, Christian American, Virtue, Charisma, New Man, Worldwide Challenge and others. I also travelled with the presidential candidates on the campaign trail and covered the Republican National Convention.
I have been in a variety of secular publications ranging from Sports Illustrated to The Saturday Evening Post.
In 1998 I joined SBC’s North American Mission Board as Manager of Publications, serving as founding editor of On Mission, NAMB's award-winning flagship magazine. I was blessed to work with a talented and dedicated staff.
I am a voracious reader and culture watcher, ever the journalist. I love to travel and have visited 23 countries, including twice to Israel and far-flung places, such as the former Soviet Union (during Communism), Japan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore and others.
I took my dream trip – the in-residence study program in Oxford, England, concentrating on C.S. Lewis, staying in his home, The Kilns. I returned to Lewis’s home in 2011 as part of my participation in Oxbridge, a tri-annual gathering that I consider to be far more than a conference. It’s a community of fun, literate, deep-thinking people drawn together by their attraction to the Joy so ably described by Lewis – that joyful experience of the Divine among us as believers.
Now settled in Texas, I have been an ongoing columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. I'm a member of the Evangelical Press Association and Advanced Writers and Speakers Association.