SPEAKING

Neely Tucker has keynoted events for universities, colleges, libraries and non-profit organizations devoted to an array of causes. These crowds have been as large as one thousand and as small as three dozen. In 2016, he has helped host the Washington Post’s Transformers Summit (interviewing Martine Rothblatt, SiriusXM co-founder), keynoted the Jamabalaya Writers’ Conference, was one of three featured speakers at the Lewisburg Literary Festival and taught a seminar at Thrillerfest in New York. Previously, he has taught “The Art of Non-Fiction Narrative” at American University and hosted panel discussions on writing, social justice, racial issues and the law. In August, his alma mater, Mississippi State, will begin housing his journalistic and literary papers. In the September release of the John Mulholland documentary, “Elmore Leonard: The Dickens of Detroit,” he is a featured guest interview. In addition to the festivals above, other clients include the Child Welfare Institute of America, the National MultiCultural Institute, the D.C. Bar, the Urban Institute, Outward Bound, the city of Cheshire Conn., the Indian River Literary Society, Shenandoah University, the Woodberry Forest School and many others.

TESTIMONIALS

“Neely served as speaker for the inaugural program of Mississippi State University Libraries’ Land & Literature series at Cotesworth Culture and Heritage Center. His presentation on his fellow Washington Post staff writer and Mississippian William Raspberry was very well-recieved. Neely’s presentation was thoughtful, insightful, and engaging.”

-Sarah McCullough
Coordinator of Cultural Heritage Projects, Mississippi State University Libraries

“Neely focused on his experiences covering this year’s presidential campaign, and the 300 or so people in the audience responded with more questions that they have ever asked any of our speakers. Neely is a writer’s writer, a journalist and novelist with a lifetime of interesting stories to tell. He’s a nice guy, too.”
-Greg Johnson
Lewisburg Literary Festival, 2016

“I can’t thank you enough for the wonderful talk you made for the Friends of the library. At our board meeting everyone was gushing about how much they enjoyed it: your candor, your humor, your enthusiasm! It was truly special for all of us — and you drew a record crowd! A slam dunk for us.”
-Sue Minchew
Starkville Public Library, Starkville, MS, Nov. 15, 2015

“On behalf of the Board and staff of the DC Public Library, I wanted to thank you for the…keynote presentation for the D.C. Author Festival with George Pelecanos. Your conversation with George was fascinating, and exactly what our audience was looking for. As two authors writing D.C.-based fiction, your shared stories of place-making through literature and how the city shapes your work were really thought-provoking”
–Linnea Hegarty
Executive Director, DC Public Library Foundation, October 2014

“Neely’s talk drew on how true life can inspire great fiction and what constitutes superior storytelling, whether it’s in the daily newspaper or in the pages of a crime thriller. As an added bonus, Neely shared tales from his long friendship with Elmore Leonard, offering glimpses into what writers can learn from one another’s work. As one of our members wrote me afterwards, ‘Neely was funny and animated and brimming over with a thousand thoughts and tips, many of which I missed because everyone was laughing too hard.’”
–Art Taylor
Programming Committee, Mid-Atlantic Chapter, Mystery Writers of America, Washington, DC, October 2014

“Our students were, of course, drawn to the poignancy of his story; they signaled this with a spontaneous standing ovation…We are especially grateful to Tucker for his willingness to visit individual College Writing classes throughout the year. . Here we are, eight years hence, and we still find ourselves referring to the advice Tucker gave our students. I often invoke his analogy that good writing is cinematic, showing – and stating! – the thing clearly….That he cared enough to move past platitudes and compliments reveals the depth of his contribution to the students who were lucky enough to hear him and read his searing memoir.
-John Hyman
Director, College Writing Program, Department of Literature, American University, Washington, D.C

“We are so grateful to you for your thoughtful preparation, without which this program would not have been such a great success…your ability to relate to and include all the panelists – a judge, a public defender, a prosecutor and a director of Legal Aid – in the discussion help us exceed our expectations for this program. The seminar was standing room only…I have coordinated several seminars like this one and I can honestly say that this was the most successful one to date. Many audience members made similar comments to me after the program.”
-Moxila Upadhyaya
Coordinator, Venable LLP, D.C. 2010 Judicial and Bar Conference
(Moderator of panel, “Perceptions of Racial and Ethnic Bias in the Courts: Views from the Bench, Bar and Jury Box.”)

“Concordia College was very blessed to have Neely visit us in August (2005) as our Orientation speaker, author of the summer book read, and English majors workshop. You exceeded our expectations! Your intellect, compassion and ability to engage an audience were key factors to the success of your visit. We truly appreciate your willingness to visit with students, sign books and have a hectic schedule.”
-Angela Seewald-Marquardt
Director of First-Year Involvement, Concordia College, Moorhead, MN
(2005 Orientation Keynote speaker)

“The audience was enthralled by your experiences in Zimbabwe…The feedback I got about your program was, ‘He is such a good speaker, I’m so glad that I came.’ ‘He is so personable and a wonderful storyteller, I enjoyed the program.’ ‘This is my first time at this library and I am so glad I came.’ It is quality programming such as yours which makes my job as a librarian so enjoyable.”
-Irene L. Briggs
Library Manger, Bethesda, Department of Public Libraries, Montgomery County, MD
(2005 Lecture Series guest speaker)

“It was truly an honor to have you with us on both occasions, and a treat for our conference attendees to hear your inspirational presentation on Love in the Driest Season. The feedback we have received is overwhelmingly positive…your elegance and story were a highlight for many attendees!”
-Shay Bilchik
President and CEO, Child Welfare League of America, 2004 National Conference
(Presenter, Book and Movie Night; Adoption Committee Meeting)

“I cannot begin to thank you enough for your recent visit and presentation to the Woodberry Forest School community….Our speakers include internationally recognized historians, politicians, educators, artists and writers, so it is significant to be able to tell you that you were considered – by students and faculty alike – to be among the very best we have had at Woodberry…Never in my history at this or any school – and I’ve been an educator for 22 years – have I seen an audience of 500 people so rapt and moved by a presentation. I’ve never had students ask how soon we could invite a speaker to return.”
-Deb Follo Caughron
Woodberry Forest School, Woodberry Forest, VA, 2004 Lecture Series
(Keynote address)

“On behalf of the Women’s Economic Club, I offer my sincere thanks for an unforgettable evening…in sharing your knowledge and the wisdom gained from your experiences with us, you carried us from one emotion to another in a very short period of time: one minute we were laughing and the next moment we were enraged or felt a sense of tragedy that left us wanting to do something – anything – to make things better.”
-Terry A. Barclay
President and CEO, Women’s Economic Club, Detroit, MI
(2004 Lecture Series Guest Speaker)