P. L. Thomas, Professor of Education (Furman University, Greenville SC), taught high school English in rural South Carolina before moving to teacher education. He is a former column editor/co-editor for English Journal (National Council of Teachers of English) and series editor for Critical Literacy Teaching Series: Challenging Authors and Genres (Brill/Sense Publishers), in which he authored/edited several volumes. He has served on major committees with NCTE, has been named Council Historian (2013-2015), and formerly served as co-editor for The South Carolina English Teacher for SCCTE. Recent books include Critical Media Literacy and Fake News in Post-Truth America (Brill, 2018), Teaching writing as journey, not destination: Essays exploring what “teaching writing” means (IAP, 2019), and How to end the Reading War and serve the literacy needs of all students: A primer for parents, policymakers, and people who care (IAP, 2020). He has also published books on Barbara Kingsolver, Kurt Vonnegut, Margaret Atwood, Ralph Ellison, James Baldwin, and Haruki Murakami. His scholarly work includes dozens of works in major journals—English Journal, English Education, Souls, Notes on American Literature, Journal of Educational Controversy, Journal of Teaching Writing, and others. His commentaries have been included in Room for Debate (The New York Times), The Answer Sheet (Washington Post), The Guardian (UK), Truthout, Education Week, The State (Columbia, SC), The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, NC), The Post and Courier (Charleston, SC) and The Greenville News (Greenville, SC). His work can be followed at radical eyes for equity (https://radicalscholarship.wordpress.com/) and @plthomasEdD on Twitter.

Honors

• NCTE 2013 George Orwell Award
• NCTE Historian, January 2013-December 2015
• 2019 Divergent Book Award for Excellence in 21st Century Literacies Research (Initiative for 21st Century Literacies Research) for Critical Media Literacy and Fake News in Post Truth America, co-edited with Christian Goering

Education

• Ed. D., University of South Carolina
• M.A., University of South Carolina
• B.A., University of South Carolina-Spartanburg
• A. A., Spartanburg Methodist College