7 Points Press will be hosting a book release celebration at Southall House on Thursday Nov. 6, at 6pm. Admission is free for this event. The authors will read and discuss their work, and books will be available for sale. Authors include Donna Geise, J. D. Manders, Jeanie Thompson, and Wayne Sides. 

About the Authors

Donna Geise began writing after her recent retirement as a literature and composition teacher. Expressing meaningfulness beyond sentimentality, creating accessible poems in a conversational tone, and the linking of sound and sense are her ultimate goals. Her poetry collection Searching for a Song was published in the fall of 2025 by 7 Points Press.

J. D. Manders is an author, historian, and poet who deployed three times to the Middle East with the U.S. Army National Guard. The Desert Calls is a cycle of poems that explores his deployment experiences. Although many of the poems are highly personal, he chose to publish them to help other veterans.

Jeanie Thompson (Montgomery) is an award-winning poet and literary arts leader. She is the retired founding Director of the Alabama Writers' Forum. Her books include The Myth of Water: Poems from the Life of Helen Keller, The Seasons Bear Us, and White for Harvest. In 2024 Thompson received the Albert B. Head Legacy Award for her work as a poet and literary arts activist.

Wayne Sides is Professor Emeritus at the University of North Alabama Department of Art and has been a force for more than 40 years in the Shoals area community art scene. His photographs have been published widely and exhibited in museums throughout the country and abroad. Thompson and Sides have collaborated since the mid-70s while attending the University of Alabama.