Devin Brown
Dr. Devin Brown is a Lilly Scholar and Professor of English at Asbury University where, in addition to other literature classes, he teaches a course on Lewis and Tolkien. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina and a Master’s degree in creative writing from the University of Florida. He has done further study at Oxford University, University College Dublin, and University Laval in Quebec.
Dr. Brown has published numerous essays and scholarly articles on C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien and has written chapters for six books, including a major chapter on The Screwtape Letters for the 4-volume series C. S. Lewis: Life, Works, and Legacy released by Praeger Publishers in 2007. In 2008 he served as Scholar-in-Residence for the Summer Seminar held at The Kilns, the Oxford home of C. S. Lewis.
Dr. Brown’s own book Inside Narnia: A Guide to Exploring The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was published by Baker in 2005 and is currently in its sixth printing. His second Narnia book, Inside Prince Caspian, was released in 2008. His third Narnia book, Inside the Voyage of the Dawn Treader, came out in 2010. His latest book, The Christian World of The Hobbit, will be released by Abingdon Press in advance of the new film adaptation in fall 2012.
He has presented scholarly papers on Lewis and Tolkien at many venues including Oxford, London, the University of Wroclaw in Poland, the University of Kentucky, Belmont University, Wheaton College, the University of Louisville, and the University of Surrey in England. He has served as Visiting Writer-in-Residence at Transylvania University.
Dr. Brown has been a featured author for the Kentucky Reading Project, the Kenutucky Book Fair, the Delaware Book Fair, the Ohio River Festival of Books, the Bluegrass Festival of Books, the Clarksville Writers’ Conference, the Southern Kentucky Book Fest, and the Kentucky Writing Project. He has been an invited speaker at the Ichthus Music Festival.
He has been a keynote or plenary speaker at conferences at Calvin College, Asbury Seminary, St. Catherine College, and Taylor University. In 2011 he was a headliner at The C. S. Lewis Festival. He has been a Convocation Speaker at Milligan College and Lexington Theological Seminary. In 2010 he was invited to appear on the Narnia Summit Panel with Michael Apted, Micheal Flaherty, and Douglas Gresham which was held in the Zanuck Theater at the 20th Century Fox Studios in Los Angeles.
His novel for young people Not Exactly Normal was published by Eerdmans Books for Young Readers in 2005, with the paperback edition coming out in 2006. It has been named a Children’s Book Council Notable Social Studies Book and has been listed on Bank Street College Best Children's Books of the Year. He is frequently invited to appear as guest author at schools which have used Not Exactly Normal in their classrooms. He is listed in Contemporary Authors and in Book Letters.
Dr. Brown has been a judge for Christianity Today's Book of the Year Award. He has served as a Consulting Editor for Irish Studies Review. In 2010 he was a contributor and Advisory Board member for The C. S. Lewis Bible published by HaperOne. He is a recipient of The Francis White Ewbank Award, Asbury's highest honor for teaching.
He has published original poetry in literary journals, among them Connecticut Review, Wind, The Chaffin Review, South Carolina Review, Cold Mountain Review, The Cumberland Poetry Review, and the Journal of Kentucky Studies.
In winter of 2007, Dr. Brown was part of the Asbury University team that produced the Educational Resources DVD to accompany the film Amazing Grace, a Walden Media production which told the story of the campaign led by William Wilberforce to abolish the slave trade in England. In 2010 he was again part of an Asbury University documentary team--this time helping to produce the video C. S. Lewis: Why He Matters Today.
Dr. Brown was born and grew up on Chicago’s south side. He and his wife, Dr. Sharon Brown, live in Lexington, Kentucky with their 15-pound cat, Mr. Fluff.
