I’m so happy to tell you that I was awarded the Emyl Jenkins Sexton Award for Fiction on Saturday night for Mattaponi Queen. The award, presented by the Library of Virginia, honors the best work of fiction by a Virginia author, and it was exciting to share the evening with my parents, Richard, and two wonderful, inspiring women–Pat Hoppe (pictured above), who was my English teacher at West Point High School, and Judy Johnston, who brought the Young Authors program to Hamilton-Holmes Elementary School while I was there. I was a finalist with literary heavyweights John Casey and John Grisham, and the award was a huge honor.

Here I am with Judy:

The night was a mix of elegant (it was held at the beautiful Library of Virginia, in Richmond) and down-home (Richard Thomas presented the lifetime achievement tribute to Earl Hamner, who read beautifully from Spencer’s Mountain). Here is Richard Thomas, who still looks a lot like he did when he was John Boy:

Here’s my dad grabbing some Mason jar mugs, which were used to serve Waltons punch:

Here I am with my mom, before the ceremony:

Here I am getting my finalist medal:

And here I am making an acceptance speech:

The biggest thank-you goes to Richard, of course.

I think Mattaponi Queen would have never been published if he hadn’t submitted the manuscript for the Bakeless Prize.  The deadline for this year’s contest is coming up, by the way: November 1. Do you have something to submit, or someone to encourage?

(P.S. Here is a link to the Library of Virginia’s press release about the awards ceremony, which includes the other winners. Congratulations to everyone nominated!)

This summer, I was lucky to attend the Sewanee Writers’ Conference as a Walter E. Dakin Fellow in fiction. Like Bread Loaf, it was a tremendous experience–on the way home, I counted thirty-six readings and lectures I heard in twelve days. I was introduced to the work of some amazing new (to me) talents, like Kevin Wilson (whose The Family Fang is just as good as the reviews say), Anna North (who read beautifully from America Pacifica), fellow Graywolfer and There Will Be Blood fan Alan Heathcock, and fellow Irvine grad Allison Benis White, whose haunting Self-Portrait with Crayon is going to inspire a unit on ekphrastic poetry with my creative writing class. I also got to meet incredibly talented playwrights, like Enrique Urueta and David Roby and Beth Henley, who staged readings for us throughout the conference (we heard staged readings from two new Beth Henley plays). 

The tradition at Sewanee is for the faculty to read from new work, so I was also incredibly lucky to hear Jill McCorkle, Randall Kenan, Tony Earley, Christine Schutt, Margot Livesey, and Alice McDermott read from gorgeous new novels. I think Margot’s may be the first to come out–The Flight of Gemma Hardy will be published in January. I can already picture myself reading it in the loft this winter.

One thing I noticed about Sewanee is that it has the best audiences I think I’ve ever seen: warm, appreciative, quick to laugh. Maybe it was the spell Jill cast with her first-night reading of her wonderful (and hilarious) new novel, but every poet and short story writer and novelist and playwright was met with tremendous support. I read early in the conference, from “Jonas,” and got some great feedback on new work, which I hope to tell you about soon.

As always, I bought a T-shirt for my dad (printed with an apropos quote from Jill: “the freedom of writing, this license to lie”) and a lot of books. I’m having some new shelves built just to hold them all using this as the inspiration.

The photo above is the swimming spot near Sewanee’s campus, where some of us went almost every day before dinner. (Those are writers’ heads, not turtles.)

John with our two books; we swapped autographs at Fearrington

Earlier this week I had the pleasure of meeting John Milliken Thompson, who is now on tour reading from his wonderful new novel, The Reservoir. I had heard about The Reservoir back in the spring–it’s from Other Press, which published The Quickening, another novel I admire, and it was getting a lot of indie bookstore buzz. When I realized that it is set in King and Queen, King William, and Richmond, I knew I had to read it.

The Reservoir was inspired by a real crime and trial in Richmond. From the book jacket: On an early spring morning in Richmond, Virginia, in the year 1885, a young pregnant woman is found floating in the city reservoir. It appears that she has committed suicide, but there are curious clues at the scene that suggest foul play. [...] As the identity of the girl, Lillie, is revealed, her dark family history comes to light, and the investigation focuses on her tumultuous affair with Tommie Cluverius.
   Tommie, an ambitious young lawyer, is the pride and joy of his family and the polar opposite of his brother Willie, a quiet, humble farmer. Though both men loved Lillie, it’s Tommie’s reckless affair that thrusts his family into the spotlight. With Lillie dead, Willie must decide how far to trust Tommie, and whether he ever understood him at all. Told through accumulating revelations, Tommie’s story finally ends in a riveting courtroom climax.

It’s both an exciting and lyrical read–I couldn’t put it down–and raises interesting questions about guilt and justice and family bonds. I went back and forth, often on the same page, in the way I felt about Tommie. I’m not one for fluffy beach reads (I read Revolutionary Road on my honeymoon), so I think this book, which is both a literary novel and a crime story, would be a terrific summer read or book club pick. You need someone to read it with you, though, so you can argue about it.

Richmonders will love the descriptions of Oregon Hill and Hollywood Cemetery, and I’m sure fellow readers from the Middle Peninsula will enjoy reading about the people and landscape of our counties more than a century ago; I think the historical details are deftly handled, adding richness without overwhelming the story or characters. I have a feeling John will show up at the King and Queen Courthouse Tavern Museum sometime this fall, and I’ll keep you posted if that happens.

In the meantime, check out these links:

John’s interview on The Book Lady’s Book Blog.

His Largehearted Boy book notes (including a playlist of songs that inspired him)

His snazzy website

An audio clip of the first chapter, read by the author

Thanks to my mom for her tireless campaign on behalf of Mattaponi Queen!

P.S. Click here to vote.

One of the best things about publishing my first book has been the opportunity to meet and develop friendships with so many other writers. Last summer, at Bread Loaf, I had the pleasure of meeting Ross White, a Durham-based poet and the founder and executive director of Bull City Press. Ross and I talked about our wish for a writing center in the Triangle–somewhere that could host classes, readings, lectures, and parties for readers and writers.

And so The Hinge was born! Mostly, this has happened thanks to Ross’s energy and resourcefulness, but as the months have passed, we’ve gathered a significant number of poets, novelists, short story writers, essayists, memoirists, and playwrights who have donated their time and talents to developing the organization. The Hinge’s mission is ”to support, nurture and connect local writers, as well as readers and the larger literary community.” We’re very excited about our launch party tomorrow at the Pinhook in Durham, which will feature readings, music, a book exchange, and a chance to win a free class.

One of our first official offerings at The Hinge will be summer classes in fiction and poetry. I’m c0-teaching with my friend Anne Raeff, author of Clara Mondschein’s Melancholia, and poet and At Length editor Jonathan Farmer will lead a poetry workshop. Click here for more details–or come by The Hinge’s launch party and win something!

From the archives of the Library of Virginia

Posted on the wall next my desk at school are postcards from some of the places I visited on last summer’s book tour. One of my favorite reading spots was the Library of Virginia, where I was able to do some research on a new project before joining a nice crowd for Books on Broad. I remember, before the event, a man in the reading room with a stack of newspapers next to him. He answered his cell phone briefly and quietly to say, “Library was closed yesterday. I got a lot of catching up to do.” I love libraries, especially the communal solitude of a library reading room (several of the stories in Mattaponi Queen were written in a library reading room).

I’m thrilled to announce that Mattaponi Queen is one of the finalists for the Library of Virginia’s People’s Choice Award for Virginia Literature. The award honors books by Virginia authors or with a Virginia theme (MQ qualifies on both counts, I’m proud to say), and finalists were selected by librarians and booksellers across the state. I have some tough competition, including John Grisham and Jan Karon, so I could really use your vote!  If you run into my mother before June 30 (when voting closes), she’ll probably hand you a stack of ballots, but you can also vote online. Click here to vote! And thank you!

P.S. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, one of my favorite books of 2010, is a nonfiction finalist. I hope to meet Rebecca Skloot in person at the awards ceremony in October.

P.P.S. I’m sorry for the very light/nonexistent posting lately–school and life have been really busy, but I have other exciting things to share soon, including a great opportunity for Triangle-area writers and readers.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch ran a nice profile of the couple this past weekend. Though they dress a little more stylishly than my characters, Ken and Gina share the same strong bond of love and acceptance. Middle school sweethearts, the Hales have been married for thirty-five years. Two years ago, Ken started openly dressing like a woman, and Gina was able to accept it because she understood that he didn’t love her any less. Now they frequent Ashland thrift stores and malls, often dressed almost exactly alike, and graciously let local people take pictures with them.  (I’m amused when people still refer to the South as a closed-minded place. Yes and no, but mostly no.)

Click here to read about the Hales, and here to read “Jonas.” “Jonas” is one of my favorite stories to read at readings, mostly because it has one of my happier endings. I’m glad Ken and Gina found that place in their own marriage.

I’ll be at UC Irvine’s Student Bookstore at 5:00 on Thursday.

I’ll be at Riverside Writers’ Week on Friday, reading at 3:00.

Next Wednesday, I’ll read at Gettysburg College at 8:00.

I promise to take pictures and post again soon!

Poets & Writers recently asked me to contribute to Writers Recommend, an online collection of tips, strategies, and practices that inspire writing. It took me a long time to decide what to write about–I thought about kayaking (I would be a kayak/nature guide if I could arrange it) or this book, which I often use to prompt my students to write with more honesty and specificity, or watching the bald eagle family that nests near my house. But in the end I wrote about the loft where I like to do my writing, and about keeping other writers’ struggles in mind when I can’t write; click here for my post.

In general, I think it’s important to be aware of what makes you feel inspired, what sustains you creatively, so you can make sure it doesn’t go missing from your life.