{{Short description|American writer (born 1947)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2021}} {{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see :Template:Infobox writer/doc --> | name = Austin Gary | image = Austin Gary Promotional Photo.jpg | imagesize = | caption = | birth_name = Gary Austin Heyde | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1947|3|7}} | birth_place = St. Joseph, Missouri, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | occupation = {{flatlist| * Novelist * playwright * songwriter }} | genre = Literary fiction | movement = | signature = | website = {{url|yourlifereading.com}} }}
'''Austin Gary''' (born '''Gary Austin Heyde''', March 7, 1947) is an American novelist and writer, best known as a songwriter for "The Car" by Jeff Carson (as Gary Heyde) and recordings by other country music performers like Tammy Wynette and John Berry, and as associate producer of albums by Carson, Berry and Hank Williams Jr.'s ''Hog Wild'' album.<ref name="Associate" />
== Career ==
===Novels and plays=== Gary has published four novels.<ref>{{cite web |title=Foreword Reviews 2015 INDIEFAB Book of the Year Award Winners LGBT (Adult Fiction) |url=https://www.forewordreviews.com/awards/winners/2015/lgbt/ |website=forewordreviews.com |access-date=9 November 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://wordsandmusic.org/past-winners/2012-winners-runners-finalists/2012-short-list-finalists-semi-finalists|title=2012 Short List for Finalists & Semi-Finalists|access-date=24 May 2016 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624074629/https://wordsandmusic.org/past-winners/2012-winners-runners-finalists/2012-short-list-finalists-semi-finalists/ |archive-date=June 24, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wordsandmusic.org/2009%20Finalists.html|title=2009 Finalists: William Faulkner - William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition|access-date=2 November 2011 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111101220803/http://www.wordsandmusic.org/2009%20Finalists.html|archive-date=1 November 2011}}</ref> They are: "Miss Madeira," "The Queerling," and "A Delicate Dance." His novel ''Miss Madeira'' and his unpublished novel ''Genius'' ("The Soul of Genius") have both been adapted into plays.{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}} His play "Walt Whitman (In Black & White) is a two-man play based on Walt Whitman.{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}} His most recent novel, "#LEO (Wannabe) SUPERHERO," is dedicated to Generation Alpha and proposes an idea to address homelessness in small towns across America.
===Songwriting=== *"One Stone at a Time" – Tammy Wynette<ref>{{Cite web |title=Who wrote "One Stone at a Time" by Tammy Wynette? |url=https://genius.com/Tammy-wynette-one-stone-at-a-time-lyrics/q/writer |access-date=2023-12-31 |website=Genius}}</ref> *"The Car" – Jeff Carson<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=1997-10-04 |title=BMI's Most-Performed Songs Of The Year |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1wkEAAAAMBAJ&dq=curb+gary+heyde+bmi+award&pg=RA1-PA104 |magazine=Billboard |publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc. |page=104 |issn=0006-2510}}</ref> *"Every Time My Heart Calls Your Name" – John Berry *"The Letter" – Ronna Reeves *"Dixie's Bar & Grill" – Brent Lamb<ref>{{Citation |title=Brent Lamb - No Excuses No Regrets Album Reviews, Songs & More |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/no-excuses-no-regrets-mw0000607783 |work=AllMusic |access-date=2023-12-31 |language=en}}</ref> *"A Love Like This" – Cleve Francis<ref name="LoveLike" /><ref>{{Citation |title=A Love Like This |date=2017-01-14 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCwrsoldkh8 |work=YouTube |access-date=2023-12-31 |language=en}}</ref> *"If Dreams Have Wings" – James T. Horn<ref>{{Cite web |date= |title=Bio |url=http://jameshornmusic.com/bio/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425132934/http://jameshornmusic.com/bio/ |archive-date=2012-04-25 |access-date= |website=James Horn}}</ref>
===Other ventures=== Gary's Martin Luther King Jr. documentary film ''They Killed Martin: 3 Lives Forever Changed'' is available on YouTube. He has appeared on Seattle Public radio station KUOW-FM with personal stories about Thornton Wilder<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sukys |first=Megan |date=2010-06-10 |title=Thornton's Here, Smart Meters, And The Writer's Almanac |url=http://www.kuow.org/kuowpresents/index.php?id=21568 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402150106/http://www.kuow.org/kuowpresents/index.php?id=21568 |archive-date=2012-04-02 |access-date= |website=KUOW.ORG}}</ref> and the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yandel |first=Jeannie |date=2011-01-10 |title=Gary Heyde: The Only Way To Know You Is To Get To Know You |url=http://www.kuow.org/program.php?id=24718 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007100125/http://www.kuow.org/program.php?id=24718 |archive-date=2011-10-07 |access-date= |website=KUOW.ORG}}</ref> as well as The Best of Stories on Stage.<ref>{{Citation |title=Gary Heyde (Austin Gary) - Wilder Day Story |date=2012-12-08 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onqmIOnPjjI |work=YouTube |access-date=2023-12-31 |language=en}}</ref>
Gary is also a high school teacher (in Haubstadt, Indiana; Franklin, Tennessee; Middle College, Tennessee; John Overton High School, and Big Picture, Washington), a numerologist<ref>{{Cite web |title=Intro To Numerology W/International Intuitive Numerologist Gary Heyde |url=https://www.facebook.com/events/1633076896965735/ |access-date=2023-12-31 |website=Facebook}}</ref> and a former advertising creative director, radio/television jingle composer, and newspaper editor.<ref name="OaklandJournal" /> He is a member of PEN Canada.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Why We Defend: PEN Canada Annual Report 2013-2014 |url=https://pencanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/PEN-AR-2014.pdf |website=PEN Canada |page=26}}</ref>
==Personal life== Gary is the son of Geoffrey Austin (Dutch) and Helen (''née'' Heyser) Heyde, both deceased.<ref name="Helen Heyde" /> In 1967, he married teacher and actress Glory (Kissel) Heyde. The marriage ended in 2002. He is the father of acclaimed stage director Rachel Rockwell,<ref name="Chicagoan" /> who died of ovarian cancer in 2018, and Jeremy Spencer, former drummer for heavy metal band Five Finger Death Punch.<ref name="Drummer's appearance" />
He attended the University of Missouri (Columbia); Lincoln University (Jefferson City) and is a graduate of the University of Evansville (Indiana), with a degree in Speech and Drama.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}
== Bibliography ==
* ''Miss Madeira'' (2011) {{ISBN|978-0987782106}} * ''The Queerling'' (2013) {{ISBN|978-1492326274}} * ''A Delicate Dance'' (2015) {{ISBN|978-0692569528}} * "#LEO (Wannabe) SUPERHERO {{ISBN|9798248496150}}
== Accolades==
* 1996 BMI "Millionaire-Play" award for "The Car" by Jeff Carson * 2015: "Book of the Year" in LGBT adult fiction by Foreword Reviews<ref name="IndieFab" />
==References== <references>
<ref name="IndieFab">Foreword Reviews 2015 INDIEFAB Book of the Year Award Winners LGBT (Adult Fiction). Retrieved July 4, 2016 from https://indiefab.forewordreviews.com/winners/2015/lgbt/</ref> <ref name="Helen Heyde">Gentry county Missouri, Obituaries: Helen Mae Heyde. Retrieved October 2014, from http://files.usgwarchives.net/mo/gentry/obits/heydehm.txt</ref> <ref name="Chicagoan">Chicagoans of the Year: Theater. Chicagotribune.com. Retrieved Dec. 2012 https://www.chicagotribune.com/2012/12/27/rachel-rockwell-brings-out-the-best-in-child-actors/</ref> <ref name="Drummer's appearance">Drummer's appearance at Ford Center a homecoming of sorts. Retrieved October 2014, from http://www.courierpress.com/entertainment/drummers-appearance-instate-a-bit-of-a</ref> <ref name="LoveLike">A Love Like This (song). Billboard.com. Retrieved 10:51, November 2, 2011, from {{BillboardURLbyName|artist=cleve francis|chart=all}}</ref> <ref name="Associate">Associate Producer Credits. Artist Direct. Retrieved 10:55, November 2, 2011, from http://www.artistdirect.com/artist/gary-heyde/706191/</ref> <ref name="OaklandJournal">Oakland City Journal Clipping. Oakland City Journal. Retrieved 11:16, November 2, 2011, from {{cite web|url=http://www.austin-gary.com/OaklandCityJournal08312011.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=November 3, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425132231/http://www.austin-gary.com/OaklandCityJournal08312011.pdf |archive-date=April 25, 2012}}</ref>
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gary, Austin}} Category:1947 births Category:Living people Category:People from St. Joseph, Missouri Category:University of Missouri alumni Category:21st-century American novelists Category:American male novelists Category:Songwriters from Missouri Category:Jingle composers Category:21st-century American male writers Category:Novelists from Missouri