Fun-Size Bio

James Ladd Thomas is a fiction writer who was born and raised in Alabama.

Pithy Bio

Born in Dothan, Alabama, James Ladd Thomas is a fiction writer who lived 29 of his first 31 years in Alabama. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Alabama and a master’s degree from Auburn University. Thomas has published over a dozen short stories in literary journals and one novel (Lester Lies Down, Vine Leaves Press), all set in the South. He taught English for 30 years, including 27 years at Valencia College in Orlando.

Healthy Bio

James Ladd Thomas is a fiction writer who was born in Dothan, Alabama, and has also lived in Prattville, Alabama; Huntsville, Alabama; Tuscaloosa, Alabama; Decherd, Tennessee; Coronado, California; San Diego, California; Auburn, Alabama; Orlando, Florida; and Sanford, Florida. He has published several short stories in literary journals, including Hawaii Review, RE:AL, Berkeley Fiction Review, Southern Exposure, First Class, Dead Mule, The Wax Paper, and Half and One. His novel Lester Lies Down was published in 2022 by Vine Leaves Press. His short story collection, Something You Should Know About, will be published by Vine Leaves Press in 2027. For 30 years Thomas earned a living by teaching Freshman Composition, which included teaching Fiction Workshop during the last 25 years. He taught Freshman Comp at Auburn University for three years and Freshman Comp and Fiction Workshop for 27 years at Valencia College. He currently reads and writes fiction. He estimates he has evaluated over 25 million pages of freshman essays. “I’m not kidding. Really.”

Jumbo Bio

James Ladd Thomas is a fiction writer who was born in Dothan, Alabama (as a toddler Thomas had his first taste of beer on his parents’ patio from his sister’s plastic teacup during a neighborhood cookout). While living in Prattville, Alabama (1963-69), he attended with his two older sisters his first concert, a Big Bam Show in Montgomery featuring Lou Christie and Paul Revere and the Raiders. His forced attendance instigated by his parents was to keep his sisters in line. The plan was a wash since he witnessed multiple instances of making out. His junior high and high school years in Huntsville, Alabama, included a 1975 Elvis concert at the Von Braun Civic Center where the excitement of the show was overshadowed by his date sitting on the couch in sweats when he knocked on the door to pick her up; that same year he attended another event at the VBCC, a literary reading by Truman Capote, where he witnessed an emotional breakdown that included Capote being escorted from the stage; a third trip to VBCC in 1975 resulted in seeing a Linda Ronstadt and Earl Scruggs Revue concert, producing an amazing juxtaposition between the sons’ long hair and jeans and the fathers’ glittering country and western outfits. A highlight from his years in Tuscaloosa was discovering Dreamland Bar-B-Que, the best in the world, where John “Big Daddy” Bishop would greet him and friends with “How you young fellas doin’ today?” The year in Decherd, Tennessee, included the completion of their home, a two-room cabin that stood on the backside of the mountain where The University of the South is located. In Coronado, California, the couple could be found sipping beers most afternoons on the edge of San Diego Bay while watching sailboats and ships passing by. San Diego, California, included snow skiing at Big Bear Ski Resort and playing volleyball on the beach during the same weekends. A highlight of Orlando, Florida, was teaching a writing workshops with CENTAUR, Central Florida's oldest AIDS Services Organization, which encouraged people infected with AIDS to write about their own personal experiences with AIDS through stories, poems, letters, essays, or journal entries. During the early 1990s, downtown Sanford, Florida, exposed the couple to a gnarly way of life due to the neighborhood being peppered with drug dealers, streetwalkers, and vagabonds. These years also include the birth of Thomas’s publication life with stories published in various literary journals including Short Story Bimonthly, Southern Exposure, Hawaii Review, RE:AL, The Provo Canyon Review, First Class, Berkeley Fiction Review, The Blue Review, Snake Nation Review, Dead Mule, The Wax Paper, and Half and One. The story “Kryptonite” was nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and the story “Waiting” was nominated for the literary anthology Best New American Voices. His novel Lester Lies Down was published in 2022 by Vine Leaves Press. He taught Freshman Comp and Fiction Workshop at Valencia College for 27 years where he also organized and ran the Coffeehouse, a literary and music event where students and faculty read their work and performed. Thomas brought many writers to Valencia for readings and master classes, including Bob Shacochis, Robley Wilson, Clyde Edgerton, Julianna Baggott, Barry Lopez, Tom Franklin, Beth Ann Fennelly, Richard Bausch, Steve Yarbrough, Vanessa Blakeslee, John Dufresne, Philip F. Deaver, Susan Lilley, Ryan Buynak, Rick Brown, Frank X. Gaspar, Meredith Walters, Kelle Groom, Lisa Lanser-Rose, Rick Campbell, Bob Morris, and Jennifer Egan. He currently enjoys reading and writing fiction and jumping in the ocean.