Omope Carter Daboiku grew up in Ironton along the Ohio River in Lawrence County, Ohio, defined as northcentral Appalachia; and, cherished annual family trips “back home” to extended families living in both the Blue Ridge of Virginia and the Smokies along the TN/GA borderlands. Trained as a cultural geographer, her writing explores the dynamics of her mixed ancestry family, migration, and the internal angst of being a “hillbilly” in brown skin.

A professional storyteller since 1990, Omope’s original works can be found in the Anthology of Appalachian Writers (Shepherd University) and Pine Mountain Sand & Gravel (Southern Appalachian Writers Collective). Achieving childhood dreams, Omope has travelled internationally, even representing Appalachia on a US State Department tour of Turkey in 2008. Her first published short story, “The Power of Water Baptism” (AAW, FRX Edition VI) was nominated for the prestigious Pushcart Prize.