Herman Melton. Southside Virginia, 1750-1950: Echoing Through History. Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2006.

From Mitchells Publications.

Reading Herman Melton's latest book about Southside Virginia is almost like spending an afternoon with someone who experienced the events firsthand. You get a good overview of episodes in our history, but without the heavy, intricate details that often (but not always) weigh down those stories. These clips are valuable because Melton expounds upon occurrences that may be little known to most people.

Barbara Hall. The Music Teacher. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books, 2009.

From Fantastic Fiction.

At its heart, Chatham, Virginia, native Barbara Hall's novel The Music Teacher is about relationships. A teacher's relationship with her student. A wife's relationship with her (ex)husband. A daughter's relationship with her father. A musician's relationship with her instrument. A woman's relationship with her co-workers. A human's relationship to the earth. A person's relationship with herself.

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!