Michael C. Hardy is a widely published author of North Carolina history. Named the 2010 North Carolina Historian of the Year by the North Carolina Society of Historians, Hardy has also been awarded the 2018 James I. Robertson Literary Prize; 2015 Volunteer of the Year for the Pisgah District, Blue Ridge Parkway; and the Alice Parker Award for Outstanding Work in Literature and Arts from his alma mater, the University of Alabama. When not researching, writing and traveling, he shares his love of history by volunteering at historic sites.