EMORY, Va. — Regional and national best-selling authors Adriana Trigiani and Barbara Kingsolver will appear Tuesday, March 21, at a pre-event for the Virginia Festival of the Book.
Emory & Henry Athletics
A news release said that area high school students and teachers, Emory & Henry students and members of the community will be treated to a special morning on campus as New York Times best-selling author, Adriana Trigiani, interviews Barbara Kingsolver about her latest book Demon Copperhead. Trigiani grew up in Wise County, and one of her books, Big Stone Gap, was made into a movie of the same name.
A native of Eastern Kentucky and a resident of Washington County, Virginia, Barbara Kingsolver is a best-selling author with two books on the list of picks for Oprah’s Book Club.
Author Barbara Kingsolver read from and answered questions about her 2018 novel, “Unsheltered,” during d December 2018 free community event.
FILE PHOTO
The Origin Project (TOP) is a program to help students, grades 2-12 find their voices through the craft of writing about their Appalachian roots. Each year co-founder Trigiani brings in outstanding authors to talk with students participating in TOP.
Limited space available for the public, but registration is required. Email Linda Woodward at linda2000@gmail.com to register.
The schedule is as follows:
10 a.m. — Dr. John Wells offers a welcome to Emory & Henry
10-10:10 a.m. — Nancy Bolmeier Fisher give an introduction to The Origin Project
10:10-10:15 a.m.— Kalela Williams Virginia Festival of the Book
Author Adriana Trigiani, a Big Stone Gap native who co-founded The Origin Project, participates in a TOP Zoom session with Unity Reed High School.
Courtesy of The Origin Project
10:15-10:20 a.m. — Adriana Trigiani introduces Barbara Kingsolver
10:20-11:10 a.m. — The two authors discuss Demon Copperhead
11:10-11:40 a.m. — Question and answer session with students, teachers and audience members
11:40-12:00 p.m. — Photo ops/meet and greet with the authors
Students unable to be on campus as well as fans of the authors can watch the live stream online at:
The location for those with reservations is Emory & Henry College’s Memorial Chapel. Take Exit 26 off Interstate 81 and turn left; take the second entrance by the stone columns and turn left. The chapel will be on your right.
The event is part of the 10th Anniversary celebration for The Origin Project. Teachers and high school students who are participating in The Origin Project are invited to Emory & Henry for the unique opportunity to spend time with Trigiani and Kingsolver. Kingsolver’s latest book, Demon Copperhead, is a modern day story set in Southwest Virginia.
In advance, guests are encouraged to read Demon Copperhead (and, if possible, the Dickens classic David Copperfield) as well as to view the 1935 film version of David Copperfield, which closely mirrors the scene structure of both books and is available at the following link: https://amzn.to/3j5ngPW.
FESTIVAL PRE-EVENT
The event with Barbara Kingsolver will be a pre-event of the Virginia Festival of the Book (to be held March 23–26). Kalela Williams, Director of the Virginia Center of the Book, will be on campus for the event. More information can be found online at http://vabook.org/.
ABOUT THE ORIGIN PROJECT
The Origin Project, co-founded by author Adriana Trigiani and education advocate Nancy Bolmeier-Fisher, seeks to inspire students to find their voices through the craft of writing about their Appalachian roots.
The program began in 2014 with 40 students, and now serves more than 1600 in 17 schools. Each student is provided with a writing journal at the beginning of the school year.
As each student works on his or her writing project about origin, they take field trips to places in the Commonwealth that celebrate history, music, theater and literature. They enjoy visits from guest authors in historic places including the Barter Theater and Emory & Henry College.
Their final writing projects are published at the end of the school year in an anthology and presented in an assembly. Every student receives a copy of the anthology; the books are also made available in every school and public library. The anthology is published by the Gupta Foundation in Virginia.
The Origin Project fosters a life-long love of reading and writing in students in grades 2-12. Organizers of The Origin Project believe “our family stories are the building blocks of our self-esteem and dreams for the future.”
