Laura Cunningham is a native Memphian and currently works at the Memphis Public Library. She is a graduate of the University of Memphis, where she completed her BA and MA degrees in history. She has worked with a number of the city's museums and historic sites, including the Mallory-Neely and Magevney House Museums. In 2006, she was awarded the Ruth and Harry Woodbury Graduate Fellowship in Southern History. She is also the author of Haunted Memphis.