About Ivey Banks
I hold a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Since graduating in 1986, I've
enjoyed steady employment as a nonfiction researcher-writer
and copy-editor.
My work in fiction represents a return to my roots. My first
writing successes came as an essayist offering novel
perspectives on the human condition. In my manuscripts, I
explore the same types of issues, but within the grander
tapestry afforded by rich characters and intricate settings.
I've got hypergraphia, an overwhelming need to write/produce
documentation, which is why a simple novel I set out to write
fifteen years ago has morphed into a thirty-volume series, with
several unrelated series, some screenplays, and some (not very
good) songs completed along the way. There's no cure, but I
wouldn't want it, anyway. The hypergraphia is the foundation
upon which I've built both my professional and my private
lives. There are, however, days when I wish I could turn it off
for a little while.
Even when I set out to accomplish a simple task with pen or
computer, it never ends up being simple. Making the grocery
list is hell because the things I add to it will inexplicably present
themselves in my mind as props in never-before-envisioned
scenes in novels and stories that I have to go write. Who has
time to go to the grocery store when there are scenes that have
to be written? That trip to Super Fresh and back feels as long
and tortuous as The Odyssey, and God help the person who
gets in my way. Except I would never hurt children. Or senior
citizens. Look, old lady in front of me at the register
plumbing the depths of your purse for exact change, just
close that clasp, get out of my way, and I will put it on my
debit card. Move it, Granny! I type while I cook, ruthlessly
hurling potatoes into both pots and scenes.
My blog name, Notes From the Primrose Path, is a reflection
of my experiences as a hypergraphic. For all the amazing
hours the writing has given me, there've been moments I
screamed inside, "Help! I'm writing, and I can't shut up!" I
can't scream it aloud. I can't trust myself not to remove a limb
from anyone who might attempt to pry my hand from pen or
keyboard.
Writing Awards:
First Place: TheNextBigWriter 2006 Novel Award
First Place: Florence Kidder Memorial Scholarship Fund
Esssay Contest, 1982
First Place: Cumberland County, North Carolina, Brotherhood
Essay Contest, 1982
Other Writing Accomplishments:
Semifinalist: The Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, 2008
Read Articles Mentioning Ivey Banks
I hold a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Since graduating in 1986, I've
enjoyed steady employment as a nonfiction researcher-writer
and copy-editor.
My work in fiction represents a return to my roots. My first
writing successes came as an essayist offering novel
perspectives on the human condition. In my manuscripts, I
explore the same types of issues, but within the grander
tapestry afforded by rich characters and intricate settings.
I've got hypergraphia, an overwhelming need to write/produce
documentation, which is why a simple novel I set out to write
fifteen years ago has morphed into a thirty-volume series, with
several unrelated series, some screenplays, and some (not very
good) songs completed along the way. There's no cure, but I
wouldn't want it, anyway. The hypergraphia is the foundation
upon which I've built both my professional and my private
lives. There are, however, days when I wish I could turn it off
for a little while.
Even when I set out to accomplish a simple task with pen or
computer, it never ends up being simple. Making the grocery
list is hell because the things I add to it will inexplicably present
themselves in my mind as props in never-before-envisioned
scenes in novels and stories that I have to go write. Who has
time to go to the grocery store when there are scenes that have
to be written? That trip to Super Fresh and back feels as long
and tortuous as The Odyssey, and God help the person who
gets in my way. Except I would never hurt children. Or senior
citizens. Look, old lady in front of me at the register
plumbing the depths of your purse for exact change, just
close that clasp, get out of my way, and I will put it on my
debit card. Move it, Granny! I type while I cook, ruthlessly
hurling potatoes into both pots and scenes.
My blog name, Notes From the Primrose Path, is a reflection
of my experiences as a hypergraphic. For all the amazing
hours the writing has given me, there've been moments I
screamed inside, "Help! I'm writing, and I can't shut up!" I
can't scream it aloud. I can't trust myself not to remove a limb
from anyone who might attempt to pry my hand from pen or
keyboard.
Writing Awards:
First Place: TheNextBigWriter 2006 Novel Award
First Place: Florence Kidder Memorial Scholarship Fund
Esssay Contest, 1982
First Place: Cumberland County, North Carolina, Brotherhood
Essay Contest, 1982
Other Writing Accomplishments:
Semifinalist: The Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, 2008
Read Articles Mentioning Ivey Banks
Photo by: Wendi Winters
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| Every time I think I know who I am, my characters rewrite me. |
-Ivey
Vital Stats
Height: 5'1/2"
Weight: I am not going to tell you a number.
I would only lie anyway.
I am:
Allergic to cheese.
Afraid of clowns and yard gnomes.
Height: 5'1/2"
Weight: I am not going to tell you a number.
I would only lie anyway.
I am:
Allergic to cheese.
Afraid of clowns and yard gnomes.
| Some Thoughts on Being Perfect: No, I'm not perfect. And anyone who expects me to be is denying me the inalienable right to be human. Actually, I don't really think anybody's perfect. That's an unattainable goal. Besides that, perfection would be pretty boring. In truth, the real goal should be that of attaining seeming perfection, which would get the people mentioned in the previous paragraph off my back. My real aspiration is to become charming, intelligent, and cunning enough to easily force the blame for my foul-ups onto others, thus heightening the perception of their imperfection while diminishing the evidence of my own. If you'd like to take the blame for one of my disasters, just click below. Oh? There's no link? Well, what did you do with it? You've broken my page, haven't you? |
If the Best Revenge is living well...
The Second Best Revenge is seeing all the things
that those who've wronged you
End up doing to mess up their own lives.
The Second Best Revenge is seeing all the things
that those who've wronged you
End up doing to mess up their own lives.
-Ivey
It isn't the size of the
house or the make of
the car
that defines a person
as a success.
It's how content a
person is with the
choices he or she has
made.
house or the make of
the car
that defines a person
as a success.
It's how content a
person is with the
choices he or she has
made.
-Ivey
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