Our things literary.
Since returning to Roanoke, Cara Ellen Modisett has revived the monthly community reading series that was shepherded for a time after her departure by Dwayne Yancey of The Roanoke Times and faculty at Community High School. The busy musician and writer slowed down enough to share with us some of the thinking behind Words3, the encouraging environment… Continue reading ★ The dimensions of a creative community with Cara Ellen Modisett
Several local authors participated in the 23rd annual Virginia Festival of the Book. A program of the Virginia Center for the Book and produced by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, the event attracts more than 20,000 participants over 5 days. Beth Macy, Elizabeth Poliner, and Cathryn Hankla read from recent works and sold books. Melody Warnick was a featured… Continue reading ★ Area writers at Virginia Festival of the Book
The memoir of the late surgeon Paul Kalanithi has been chosen as the book for the 2017 Roanoke Valley Reads. When Breath Becomes Air (Random House, 2016) includes the physician's final reflections after his 2013 diagnosis with stage IV lung cancer. The book topped The New York Times Bestseller list and is frequently listed as one of the best books of 2016. Roanoke Valley Reads, a program of Blue Ridge… Continue reading ★ Kalanithi Memoir chosen for 2017 Roanoke Valley Reads
Liz Long is a force. By day, the LeisureMedia360 associate editor writes for the leading regional glossies. Then she heads home to fill volumes with tales of the super-powered. In April, she'll open the Star City for an invasion of more than a hundred authors of Young Adult fiction from up and down the East Coast. And… Continue reading ★ Liz Long’s Welcome Invasion: Saturday, April 8
Lee Hunsaker received a warm reception at Big Lick SOUP, positioning Hoot and Holler: Our Stories Out Loud as a community building strategy. “Hearing each other’s stories connects us,” she said. “I want to use this as a platform for those in our community who haven’t had a voice in the past.” Expect Hunsaker to… Continue reading ★ Hoot and Holler: Our Stories. Out Loud. April 13
Check out this morning's spot-on Roanoke Times editorial. As we like to do around here, the piece looks at other communities for a model to replicate, but that's okay. At least this time the community pointed to was Austin, not Asheville. There, South by Southwest grew the economy with an entrepreneurial arts-based venture. The point: like the traditional mountain music along… Continue reading ★ This is what we’re talking about: Art and commerce
The 57th Annual Lex Allen Literary Festival will feature essayist Barbara Hurd, Appalachian author Crystal Wilkinson, and Hollins' Spring 2017 Louis D. Rubin Writer-in-Residence, poet Li-Young Lee. The free event takes place on Saturday, April 1, in the Frances Niederer Auditorium (Richard Wetherill Visual Arts Center) at Hollins University (7916 Williamson Road). Attend for all or part of the day.… Continue reading ★ Lex Allen Literary Festival April 1
Shari Dragovich has been named Roanoke's 2017 Writer by Bus. The freelance writer was selected through a competitive process to ride the bus throughout March and April to craft short essays highlighting the Valley's public transportation system. The effort is a partnership of RIDE Solutions, Valley Metro, and the Roanoke Arts Commission. The full slate of Art by… Continue reading ★ Dragovich Named 2017 Writer by Bus
Mike and Anita Allen's Mythic Delirium journal is open for submissions of short fiction and poetry - fantasy, horror, science fiction, interstitial, and cross-genre works. The submission period closes on May 1. Get submission details at mythicdelirium.com, and read the January-March 2017 issue to get in the mood.
Valley Writers has a spot or two available in their first and third Thursdays group for writers of all levels. The group shares publishing news and offers helpful critiques of each other's writing. (It's not a "write-in" in which writing is done during the meeting.) You don't have to be published or even want to be published to… Continue reading ★ Open Spot in Writing Group
BOOK CITY ★ Roanoke 