Recent USFSP graduate Merab-Michal Favorite found a way to blend her love of local history with her journalistic flair in her debut book “Palmetto: Images of America” series.
The 29-year-old Bradenton Times weekly columnist hadn’t planned on writing a book, but things changed when friend Jeff Burton of the Palmetto City Commission called.
Favorite first met Burton while working at Popi’s, a local Palmetto diner, then later while covering the Palmetto City Council meetings.
He was familiar with some of the historical articles she had written for her column, and knew of her interest in local history. Favorite seemed to be an obvious choice, so he asked her if she would like to do a book. He passed her name along to a publisher who was looking for a local author and Favorite jumped at the chance.
“I immediately said I would do it. I had to put together a pitch for the publisher and they hired me,” Favorite said. “ I started the day I signed the contract.”
She worked with a strict deadline—about six months. Three months were devoted to poring through photos, documents and boxes in the library. She also put ads in papers asking locals to contribute.
“The hard part was putting names with faces and figuring out exactly what I was looking at,” she said. Both the Palmetto Historical Society and the Manatee County Historical Society were helpful.
The remaining three months were used to piece the research materials together.
Favorite has deep ties to Palmetto. The fifth-generation Palmetto native has ancestors from Terra Ceia Island—she calls herself a “fourth-generation island girl.” She currently lives in her grandmother Alice Sutton’s house—the very house where her mother Bonne’ Sutton grew up, in downtown Palmetto.
Favorite has fond memories of “swimming off the docks and swinging on ropes from the Indian mounds,” she said.
Her working-class roots gave her the savvy to put herself through college with government grants and student loans. Younger brother Elan followed suit, choosing the Coast Guard after college.
Her family naturally gravitated toward all things water-related—fishing, boating, swimming. She described them as “aquatically oriented.”
In her weekly Bradenton Times column, Sunday Favorites, she shares with readers family tales of fishing trips with mother Bonne’, sailing escapades with father Guy, and camping excursions with Elan. Her timeless adventures are reminiscent of simpler times.
As a journalist, she divides her time between covering the Manatee School Board, Bradenton City Commission and local fishing and community interests. She also works part-time for the Palmetto Community Redevelopment Agency, handling PR and video editing.
Favorite also received college credit for the project. She contacted Associate Professor Robert Dardenne, chair of the journalism department, about doing an independent study. Dardenne said if she could find a teacher to take on the project, he would give her the credit.
“He thought it might be a challenge, since the teacher would not receive compensation for the project,” she said. “That teacher was Dr. Michael Killenberg—he edited the entire thing and helped me the whole way through, even though he was supposed to be retired. That is why the book is dedicated to him. It is also dedicated to Jeff Burton.”
Killenberg said he learned a great deal from his student.
“Merab helped me gain a deeper understanding of Florida’s history. As I went over her chapters, I learned about the state’s pioneers and the struggles they routinely experienced,” he said. “Merab’s accounts reminded me at times of ‘The Yearling’ and its descriptions of what it was like to settle in the wilderness.”
Killenberg said books like Favorite’s “help flesh out and preserve the stories of smaller communities that otherwise would be overlooked in books of a larger scale.”
“A teacher’s greatest satisfaction comes when a student successfully tackles an assignment well beyond the norm,” Killenberg said. “Merab isn’t the type of person who just gets by. She’s determined and ambitious as a writer and a researcher.”
Favorite’s success boils down to two things: hard work and opportunity.
“I worked hard to get where I am. I took every opportunity anyone was willing to give me,” she said. “This book has opened so many doors it’s unbelievable. Officials are now coming to me for historical advice. The city wants to use the cover image as a gateway sign for the entrance to [Palmetto]. They also purchased books to give to new businesses as a part of a care package.”
Although she never dreamed she would profit from the book, Favorite says she will now be able to pay off some of her debts and start a retirement fund. “That is something to be proud of,” she said.
More books are on horizon for Favorite. “The same publisher is going to let me do another one of the same series for the neighboring city, Bradenton,” she said. She also has a book about her Caribbean travels in the works, too.
The book launch is Feb. 3 from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Palmetto Art Center at 907 Fifth St. W. in Palmetto, Fla. An exhibit including the historical photos used in the book is planned. Refreshments will be available for purchase.
The book will also be available at USFSP Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com.
Email: news@crowsneststpete.com
Headshot contributed by Whittany Patton Photography
Book cover contributed by Arcadia Publishing
Pretty AWESOME!:)