James A. Autry is an author, poet and consultant. Before taking early retirement in 1991 to pursue his present career, Autry was president of Meredith Corporation's Magazine Group, a 500 million dollar operation with more than 900 employees.

During his thirty-two year career, Autry served as a daily newspaper reporter, editor of a weekly newspaper, editor and publisher of a city magazine, editor of one of the country's largest magazines, and vice president and editor-in-chief of all books and magazines at Meredith Corporation. He is the author of Love and Profit and Life and Work, as well as two collections of poetry, Nights Under a Tin Roof and Life After Mississippi.