Bland Simpson is an American author and pianist from North Carolina. He grew up in Elizabeth City. He has written six books, two of which also feature photography by his wife, conservationist Ann Cary Simpson. Simpson has become an authority on Eastern North Carolina's mysteries, geography and culture. He is a professor of English and Creative Writing at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, having taught since 1982, and the long-time pianist for The Red Clay Ramblers, the Tony Award-winning string band. He also has written music and lyrics for, as well as performed in, a number of plays which have been performed Off-Broadway, at Ford's Theater in Washington, and other prominent venues; some of the play titles are Diamond Studs, Kudzu, and King Mackerel And The Blues Are Running.