List of Southside Authors: Current

Do you ever find yourself looking for a book to read by a local author? Poetry, short stories, nonfiction - anything could fit the bill as long as it is by a Southside author? The following list represents some of the talent in our part of Commonwealth. As time goes on, I will continue to add to this list to help expose you to Virginia writers.

Author	Southside Connection	Genre
Craig Challender*	Farmville (Prince Edward)	Poetry
Kelly Cherry^*	Halifax (Halifax)	Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Poetry
Linda Hamlett Childress^ Martin Clark^ Scott M. Foran*	Brookneal (Campbell) Stuart (Patrick) Halifax (Halifax)	Memoir Fiction Fiction, Poetry
Chapman Hood Frazier* Ann Davison Garbett*	Farmville (Prince Edward) Danville (Pittsylvania)	Poetry Fiction, Poetry
Marion Higgins Margaret Hoffman^*	Blackwater River (Franklin) Danville (Pittsylvania)	Humorous Essays Fiction
William Hoffman^	Charlotte Court House (Charlotte)	Fiction, Short Stories
Frances Hallam Hurt*	Chatham (Pittsylvania)	Fiction
Dean E. Hybl^ Helen D. Melton*	Keysville (Charlotte) Chatham (Pittsylvania)	Fiction, Sports Fiction
James W. Morrison*	Moneta (Bedford)	Fiction, Poetry
Fred Motley*	Danville (Pittsylvania)	Poetry
Becky Mushko*	Penhook (Franklin)	Poetry
Tom O'Grady^*	Hampden-Sydney (Prince Edward)	Poetry
Grace Simpson*	Hampden-Sydney (Prince Edward)	Poetry

^ denotes that a publication by the author is in the Charlotte County Library.

*I compiled the initial list from the Virginia Commission for the Arts directory entitled Writers in Virginia. I am not certain how authors are added to this list, but it appears as though the program has been canceled due to budget cuts.

Is your favorite Southside author missing from this list? Please introduce us to our local talent!

(Almost) Summer greetings!

My apologies for the gap in between posts, but I hope that you have had a delightful spring and are ready for summer tomorrow! Although we seem to already have plenty of dog days under our belts with record-high temperatures, cookouts, and baseball (Wahoowa!), the summer solstice will make it official. And maybe that means that you are looking for some Southside Virginia gems to add to your summer reading list!

Kathleen Grissom. The Kitchen House. New York: Touchstone, 2010.

Lavinia, an Irish girl orphaned on her family’s voyage to America, is taken in as an indentured servant at Tall Oaks, a plantation in Southside Virginia, in 1791. With no memory of her previous life, Lavinia becomes attached to the plantation’s slaves, making them her makeshift family. Over the next few years, Lavinia witnesses the injustices the slaves endure, and they enrage her. She has no real concept of plantation society, although she understands that she is afforded more opportunities, such as learning how to read, because she is white.

What should I read first?

Here is a list of books I am considering reading this week. What do you think would be a great first book to blog about?