Our things literary.
Words surround Hayleigh Worgan. By day, the 2011 Roanoke College graduate can be found connecting young people to books in the Young Adult department of the South Roanoke County Library. She’s also the editorial director of Bella Magazine. And at 27, the writer and visual artist has a YA novel and a collection of poetry… Continue reading ★ Hayleigh Worgan on chaos and creating complex characters
Roanoke Valley Reads' 2017 signature event, Finding Life in the Face of Death will take place on Wednesday, November 1, from 7 - 9 PM in Blue Ridge Literacy auditorium in the downtown Roanoke Main Library. The keynote speaker will be Dr. Thomas Milam, a psychiatrist with Carilion. Chaplains from two area hospices will be joined by hospice… Continue reading ★ Roanoke Valley Reads Signature Event Nov. 1
Community High School is holding a book sale and cookout at its new art space downtown (11 S. Jefferson Street) on October 6 from 5 - 8 PM. Food will be served from 6 to 7 PM with hamburgers, hotdogs, vegan options, chips, and drinks for $10.00. Author and Virginia Tech English professor Matthew Vollmer… Continue reading ★ Community High School Book Sale Friday, OCT 6
Shari Dragovich, the 2017 Writer by Bus will read at the Raleigh Court Branch Library Write Night on Tuesday, Oct. 10, at 6 PM. Each year the Ride Solutions, in partnership with the Greater Roanoke Transit Co., and the Roanoke Arts Commission, sponsors a transportation based writer-in-residence. This year's Writer by Bus, Dragovich -a Roanoke based blogger… Continue reading ★ Writer by Bus Dragovich to be featured at Oct. 10 Write Night
Words3 (Words, Cubed) will take place next Thursday, December 14, at 6 PM at Altus Chocolate, in downtown Roanoke at 123 Campbell Avenue, SE, across the street from the RSO Green Room. There will be free tea and cookies, thanks to sponsor, the Dr. Robert L.A. Keeley Healing Arts Program at Carilion Clinic. Come out and… Continue reading ★ Words, Cubed – words blued: Dec 14
The region is rich in talented writers quietly and tenaciously pursuing an avocation. For playwright Dwayne Yancey, that dedication results in staged productions and performances in professional theaters, communities, and schools around the country. Having published a dozen plays, Yancey is prolific—and that output is in addition to his 1,000 words each day on the… Continue reading ★ Dwayne Yancey’s other gig: On getting his plays into the world
With the joy and risk that come with engaging diverse perspectives, public book groups spark important community conversations while enriching the reading experience. Certainly that was the case for the dozen or so people gathered at the Salem Public Library recently for a well organized review of The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat by Edward Kelsey… Continue reading ★ The risk and reward of the public book discussion: On the Salem Library Book Group
Summer at the Roanoke County Public Library includes a full Summer Calendar of Events for kid and teens, and some good opportunities for adult book talk. First: sign up at the circulation desk of any county library branch for the all-ages Reading By Design summer reading program. It runs through August 4. Then how about attending a book… Continue reading ★ Summer reading at the Roanoke County Library: Plus Chipotle benefit night Tues., June 20
On a recent Sunday afternoon a group of seven people gathered at Sweet Donkey to discuss Johnathan Haidt's The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion (Pantheon, 2012). Roanoke artist Katherine Devine put the call out for anyone interested in discussing the book after a conversation with Delegate Sam Rasoul. "He said… Continue reading ★ Building the hive: Book group discusses The Righteous Mind
A pleasant risk of inventorying the region's book clubs is getting pulled into them. It's hard to say no. Reading is connection. The 'solitary' act is really a partnership with the author. For a while, you're almost in one mind together. So it's natural then to want to expand that connection to others with others… Continue reading ★ Let’s talk about it. Why we discuss books together.
BOOK CITY ★ Roanoke 