Frances Figart (Fié-gert) directs the creative team at Smokies Life and is the editor of Smokies Life Journal, the Smokies LIVE blog, and several books published by the association. Frances’ road ecology fable, A Search for Safe Passage, won Publication of the Year in 2022 from the Public Lands Alliance. Her Mabel Meets a Black Bear (2023) follows twin ten-year-old girls who learn the hard way how to be BearWise and grow up to teach others the importance of keeping food away from black bears. Frances’ third book for young readers, Camilla and the Caterpillars (September 2024) supports the Homegrown National Park movement catalyzed by Doug Tallamy, advocating for the cultivation of native plants and trees on private lands to strengthen species diversity.
