Retired Dean Authors Second Novel

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Photo by Media Services

The Waters of Summer - Cecil Haywood’s second book will be available beginning March 1.  Haywood’s new book comes six years after his first book “Jack Knife.”

   The struggles of a family of sharecroppers against drought, a vindictive landlord and the Great Depression form the subject of a newly released novel by Cecil Haywood of Monticello, retired dean of the School of Education at the University of Arkansas at Monticello. 

   The novel “The Waters of Summer,” is Haywood’s second book, and will be available in bookstores, including major bookseller Barnes and Noble, beginning March 1. Copies of the book may also be purchased directly by calling Haywood at (870) 367-7265 or on the Internet through Publish America.  

   Haywood will sign copies of his book Sunday, April 29 from 2 - 4 p.m., in Willard Hall as part of an open house hosted by the UAM School of Education. 

   Haywood refers to his book as “historical fiction,” although readers will recognize at least one character in the novel, former Arkansas Governor and U.S. Senator Dale Bumpers, who gave Haywood permission to use his name as a character in the book. Haywood is from Bumpers’ hometown of Charleston and the novel’s backdrop is based on Haywood’s own experiences as the ninth child born to sharecroppers near Charleston just prior to the beginning of the Depression. 

   Haywood published his first novel “Jack Knife,” about quarreling stepbrothers, in 2001. 

   Haywood was a member of the UAM faculty from 1962 until his retirement in 1993. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Arkansas Tech and a master’s and doctorate from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. His wife Ann Haywood, is also a retired UAM professor.