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The 2021 Thomas Robinson Prize for Southern Literature will be presented next April to Barbara Kingsolver (pictured above) who lives on a farm in rural Washington County, Virginia. Last year’s winner was Ron Rash, and the year before went to Fred Chappell. The 2013 winner was Lee Smith. There are so many outstanding books that are set almost entirely in the Southern Appalachian Region or feature characters primarily molded by our region, that I cannot cover books partially set here. But my readers may well want to know that one of the most honored books of 2021 featured the Great...

The 66th Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award for 2021 was presented on December 9th to Even As We Breathe by Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle. It is the first novel by an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to have been published by a major mainstream publisher. My Monticello by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson made the Time magazine list of the ten best fiction books of 2021.  Publishers Weekly has announced their best books of 2021. They include: Pure America: Eugenics and the Making of Modern Virginia by Elizabeth Catte Nina: A Story of Nina Simone by Traci N. Todd...

Khadijah Queen – pictured above - has been selected as one of four judges for the 2022 PEN Open Book Award. She teaches at Virginia Tech. Maurice Manning has been selected as one of four judges for the 2022 PEN/JEAN Book Award. He teaches at Transylvania College. My Monticello by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson will be adapted by Chernin Entertainment for a Netflix film! The Western North Carolina Historical Association has named five finalist for the 2021 Thomas Wolfe Memorial Award. They are: Mary Othella Burnette for Lige of the Black Walnut Tree: Growing Up Black in Southern Appalachia Annette Saunooke...

The American Booksellers Association’s Indie Next List Preview for October includes My Monticello by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson. The October 22nd issue of This Week included a spotlight on The Speckled Beauty by Rick Bragg. Concluding that “the appeal of Bragg’s story knows no boundries . . . . and quotes Laurie Hertzel of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune writing that Bragg is “almost always entertaining.” Crystal Wilkinson’s story, “Endangered Species” was chosen to appear in The Best Short Stories of 2021. There is a Hulu TV Series based on Beth Macy’s book, Dopesick.

On August 18th  Fisk University announced that Dr. Karida Brown, pictured above, the author of Gone Home: Race and Roots through Appalachia has accepted a one-year appointment to be the inaugural Diane Nash Descendants of the Emancipation Chair at its John Lewis Center for Social Justice. She has a Masters from the University of Pennsylvania and a doctorate from Brown University and teaches at UCLA. She also serves as the Director of Racial Equity and Action for the Los Angeles Lakers.  My Monticello by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson – scheduled for publication on October 5th - is one of three finalists...