Are you a lover of all things literature, and do you live in/around Charlottesville? If you check both those boxes, you don’t want to miss our annual Book Bash! Kalela Williams, director of our Virginia Center for the Book, gives you a few more reasons you should join us, including a live auction, food/drinks, and a sneak peek at the 2024 VA Book Fest.
Learn more and buy your tickets ($40/ea): https://loom.ly/BavoJCE
To celebrate National Arts and Humanities Month, we've asked our staff at Virginia Center for the Book and Virginia Festival of the Book: What's on your bookshelf? 🤔📚
Assistant Director Aran Donovan shared titles including “What is Otherwise Infinite,” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” and “Don't Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You.”
Join Aran in showing your love for literature by sharing what's on YOUR bookshelf in the comments below, or making a gift this #NAHM: https://loom.ly/GWFHQ38
VaBook2022--The Critical Role of Local Journalism
Authors and media specialists Christopher Ali (Farm Fresh Broadband) and Jennifer Lawless (News Hole) share their work.
Writing in Your Life: Day by Day for VFotB
SHELF LIFE—Fighting Political Gridlock: David J. Toscano with Christopher K. Peace
David J. Toscano (Fighting Political Gridlock: How States Shape Our Nation and Our Lives) discusses how state governments, in response to federal government gridlock, have taken action on issues of vital importance to their citizens. Toscano served fourteen years in the Virginia House of Delegates, including eight years as the Democratic leader in the House. He will discuss his book in conversation with Christopher K. Peace who also served fourteen years in the Virginia House of Delegates, seated across the aisle.
SHELF LIFE—In the Shadow of the Ivory Tower with Davarian L. Baldwin & Jalane Schmidt
Davarian L. Baldwin (In the Shadow of the Ivory Tower: How Universities are Plundering Our Cities) discusses how universities have become big business and the costs for those living in their shadows, with Jalane Schmidt, director of the UVA Democracy Initiative’s Memory Project and associate professor of Religious Studies.
SHELF LIFE—Music, Grace & Grit: Black Voices in Verse
Poets Ashley M. Jones (Reparations Now!), Khalisa Rae (Ghost in a Black Girl’s Throat), and Crystal Wilkinson (Perfect Black) confront their complex Southern inheritance, mourning the horrors of racism while celebrating the sweetness of Black love and language. Join us as they read from and discuss their latest collections with moderator Valencia Robin.
NOW AVAILABLE! Watch SHELF LIFE—Any Murders in the Building? and step into cozy-reading for the winter with Maggie Blackburn (Once Upon a Seaside Murder), Amita Murray (Arya Winters and the Tiramisu of Death), and RV Raman (A Will to Kill).
Not your average panel discussion, this on-demand video features new cozy mysteries with a decades-old crime, family heirs isolated at a haunted mansion in India’s Nilgiris district, and an English village baker of macabre desserts who… well, in all cases, murder ensues and an investigation follows! Moderated by Leone Ciporin.
SHELF LIFE—Beloved Beasts: Michelle Nijhuis with Oliver Milman
Michelle Nijhuis discusses Beloved Beasts: Fighting for Life in an Age of Extinction, her vibrant history of the modern conservation movement seen through the lives and ideas of the people who built it, in conversation with Oliver Milman.
SHELF LIFE—The Follower: Kate Doughty in Conversation with Christopher Tilghman
Kate Doughty discusses her debut novel, The Follower, with Christopher Tilghman. A spine-tingling YA thriller based on a true story, The Follower examines the implications of what it is to be watched in the era of social-media fame—as well as the lies we tell and the lengths we’ll go to uphold a perfect image, when our lives depend on it.
Undoing Drugs: A Conversation with Maia Szalavitz
In honor of National Recovery Month, join us as Maia Szalavitz, author of Undoing Drugs: The Untold Story of Harm Reduction and the Future of Addiction, discusses the story of harm reduction and its potential to tame the opioid crisis, mitigate future drug problems, and quell other pandemics, in conversation with Lawson Koeppel, co-founder of Virginia Harm Reduction Coalition.
SHELF LIFE—Literary Fiction: A Discussion with Yvonne Battle-Felton, Keisha Bush & Melanie S. Hatter
Yvonne Battle-Felton (Remembered), Keisha Bush (No Heaven for Good Boys), and Melanie S. Hatter (Malawi’s Sisters) discuss their acclaimed literary fiction, exploring themes of family, memory, and the affirming power of love.
We're taking an end-of-summer break from #ShelfLife programming, but don't fret! You can re-visit past favorites or catch up on virtual events you might have missed in #VaBook2021 by watching our on-demand videos at VaBook.org/watch. PLUS stay tuned for new events in September!
Coming Out & Coming of Age in Graphic Novels: The Magic Fish with Trung Le Nguyen
Trung Le Nguyen discusses The Magic Fish, his YA graphic novel that deals with the complexity of family and how stories can bring us together, in conversation with his editor, Whitney Leopard. In this gorgeous debut, fairy tales are the only way one boy can communicate with his Vietnamese immigrant parents. But how will he find the words to tell them that he’s gay? A powerful read about family, identity, and the enduring magic of stories.
SHELF LIFE—Sizzling Summer Suspense! With Alyssa Cole and Dorothy Koomson
Join Alyssa Cole, author of When No One is Watching, and Dorothy Koomson, author of I Know What You've Done, as they discuss digging into neighborhood secrets, disappearances, and conspiracies in their unputdownable and best-selling thrillers; with John Vercher.
SHELF LIFE—The World in the Whale with Rebecca Giggs and Nick Pyenson
Rebecca Giggs, author of Fathoms: The World in the Whale, discusses the role of whales in our global culture and changing environment in conversation with Nick Pyenson, author of Spying on Whales and curator of fossil marine mammals at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History. Presented in partnership with 1455 Literary Arts.
Summer Romance with Emily Henry, Libby Hubscher & Priscilla Oliveras
As summer heats up, authors Emily Henry (People We Meet on Vacation), Libby Hubscher (Meet Me in Paradise), and Priscilla Oliveras (Anchored Hearts) read from and discuss their steamy new novels that transport readers to Key West and other paradise getaways.
As part of the Virginia Festival of the Book’s Shelf Life virtual series, this event is FREE to attend and open to the public. To attend, please register below or simply make plans to watch on Facebook.com/VaBookFest.
This event will offer closed captions and an accompanying live transcript using Zoom’s built-in automatic speech recognition software (ASR). To request live-captioning accommodations, please write [email protected] no later than seven days before the event. A video recording from this event will be provided soon after completion and an accurate transcript will be available at a later date, at VaBook.org/watch.
SHELF LIFE—After: Dr. Bruce Greyson on Near-Death Experiences
Dr. Bruce Greyson, author of After: A Doctor Explores What Near-Death Experiences Reveal about Life and Beyond, offers a scientific perspective of near-death experiences using his forty years of research and clinical experience. His lifelong journey to understand what happens with near-death experiences results in a book about dying, but also about life and living.
SHELF LIFE—Black Smoke with Adrian Miller and Leni Sorensen
Adrian Miller, author of Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue, discusses his new cookbook celebrating barbecue cookery and the role of African Americans in barbecue culture, in conversation with Leni Sorensen.
SHELF LIFE: We Are Watching Eliza Bright with A.E. Osworth
A.E. Osworth, author of We Are Watching Eliza Bright, discusses their debut novel about a brilliant, self-taught, woman video game coder, the industry-pervading misogyny she faces, and the resulting violence from male gamers after reporting workplace harassment. And that’s only the beginning! With Kim Wilkens of Tech-Girls and Charlottesville Women in Tech.
SHELF LIFE—The Groundhog Forever with Henry Hoke & Lydia Conklin
Two film students in post-9/11 Manhattan get stuck reliving the same day over and over together: the day they meet Bill Murray at a screening of Groundhog Day. This vicious loop tests the limits of their friendship and forces them to confront the true meaning of artistic immortality. Join us for a FREE virtual event with author Henry Hoke as he discusses his new poetic pop novel with experimental flair...
The Other Madisons with Bettye Kearse
The Virginia Festival of the Book in partnership with Encyclopedia Virginia presents Dr. Bettye Kearse and a discussion of her book, The Other Madisons: The Lost History of a President’s Black Family, in conversation with Dr. Shelley Murphy, who conducts the Descendant Outreach Program at the University of Virginia. Dr. Kearse shares her family’s story, retained by eight generations of griots and griottes in oral and written histories and confirmed by her own extensive research in her quest to discover and tell a more complete story of an extraordinary American family.
Double Draw Dare with Tom Angleberger & Dub Leffler
Join us for this FREE virtual event with children’s book author-illustrators Tom Angleberger (DJ Funkyfoot! Butler for Hire) and Dub Leffler (Once There Was a Boy) as they take part in this interactive, gameshow-style event, featuring fun challenges and silly twists for ages 5+, with Sarah FitzHenry, presented with the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of UVA!
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