In this program, author and historian Jack E. Fryar, Jr. will explore the role North Carolina played in the Golden Age of Piracy, recounting the exploits of notorious high seas outlaws like Stede Bonnet, Calico Jack Rackham, female pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read, and of course, Blackbeard.

Jack E. Fryar, Jr. is a life-long resident of southeastern North Carolina, born and raised in Wilmington. He has been a professional writer and publisher since 1994. In 2000, he founded Dram Tree Books, a small publishing house whose titles tell the story of North Carolina and the Carolina coast. Jack has authored or edited forty volumes of North Carolina and Cape Fear history, and is a frequent lecturer for historic groups in the region. His historical specialty is colonial North Carolina, though he is well versed in all N.C. history. Jack has served as a United States Marine, taught high school and middle school history, worked as a broadcaster, freelance magazine writer, sports announcer, and book designer. A colonial and Revolutionary War re-enactor, Jack holds Masters degrees in History and in Teaching from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. His latest book, When the British Came: Revolution in the Lower Cape Fear, 1765-1782, can be found in area bookstores, museums, and gift shops, or at www.dramtreebooks.com.