PATRICIA RAYBON ONLINE

Patricia Raybon is an award-winning author and journalist whose personal essays on faith, family and race relations have been published in The New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, USA Today, USA Weekend, Chicago Tribune, The Denver Post, Rocky Mountain News, the Charles Stanley Ministries In Touch Magazine and featured on National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition.

A former Sunday magazine editor at The Denver Post--and a former features reporter at The Denver Post and the Rocky Mountain News--her feature articles have won the Sweepstakes Award from the Associated Press of Colorado, the first-place General Reporting Award from the Society of Professional Journalists' Colorado chapter and several awards for feature writing and reporting from National Press Women, Colorado Press Women and Colorado Association of Black Journalists, among others.

Her first book, My First White Friend, her piercing personal story on racial forgiveness, won a Christopher Award for "artistic excellence affirming the highest values of the human spirit."

Her latest book, I Told the Mountain to Move, about her struggle as a Christian woman to learn how to pray, was a finalist in Christianity Today Magazine's 2006 Book of the Year contest in the "Spirituality" category.

"Raybon’s writing is luscious," says the New Orleans Times-Picayune, and that summary captures perhaps best the moving appeal of Patricia Raybon’s unusual blend of talents.

A spiritual prayer warrior, she brings an honest but gentle clarity to the three prongs of her creative life. She is an award-winning writer of books and essays, a (recently retired) journalism professor at the University of Colorado where she was a tenured associate professor, and she is a motivational trainer and speaker to clients ranging from churches to boardrooms to newsrooms.

It’s all inspired teaching to Patricia whose clients, students and readers cite her transparent passion and professionalism.

Patricia’s insightful essays have been reprinted in more than a dozen college textbooks including The Prentice Hall Guide for College Writers, Guide to Writing Magazine Nonfiction, Models for Writers -- Short Essays for Composition, The Writer's Selections, The Norton Sampler -- Short Essays for Composition, The Writing Process, Short Takes -- Model Essays for Composition, The Compact Reader -- Short Essays by Theme and Form, among others.

She has presented keynotes and motivational workshops to such groups as the American Association of Sunday and Features Editors, the Academy of Christian Editors, Texas Association of Family and Marriage Therapy, Teaching for a Change Conference, Women of Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, National Association of Black Journalists, National Association of Native American Journalists, MOPS, National Diversity Conference on Youth, The January Series of Calvin College, among others.

Patricia has appeared on NBC’s Today Show, PBS’ Tavis Smiley Show, NPR’s Talk of the Nation, NPR’s Weekend Edition, Pacifica Radio, the Moody Network, ABC Radio Network, American Urban Radio Network, DayStar Television and scores of other radio and television broadcasts to discuss matters of faith, race, family and writing.

Closer to home, Patricia is a wife, mother, grandmother, mother-in-law and active member of the historic Shorter Community A.M.E. Church in Denver. She sings second alto in the nationally acclaimed community choir, The Spirituals Project, whose mission is to preserve and revitalize the sacred songs called “spirituals.”

Married for 34 years, Patricia and her husband Dan have two "fabulous" grown daughters, one "awesome" son-in-law and three "amazing" grandchildren. In every aspect of life, she seeks to live in the spirit of one of her favorite Bible verses, "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth." (Romans 1:16, KJV)