ISSUED: 13 September 2021
MEDIA CONTACT: Dana Costa
SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV — The work of Marie Manilla, this year’s Shepherd University Writer-in-Residence, is inspiring events at this year’s annual Appalachian Heritage Writer-in-Residence and Appalachian Heritage Festival. Events run September 24 through October 1. All are free and open to the public. Many will be streamed live on Shepherd’s YouTube channel or will be available via Zoom, making them accessible to audiences around the world.
Manilla is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Her novel, The Patron Saint of Ugly, won the Weatherford Award and is the 2021 One Book One West Virginia common reading selection. Shrapnel received the Fred Bonnie Award for Best First Novel. Stories in her collection, “Still Life with Plums,” first appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Prairie Schooner, Mississippi Review, Calyx, and other journals. Her essays have appeared in Word Riot, Cossack Review, Hippocampus, and Under the Sun, and Still.
“This is really a celebration not just of Appalachia but also of West Virginia,” said Dr. Sylvia Bailey Shurbutt, director, Shepherd Center for Appalachian Studies and Communities. “The programs planned around the work of Marie Manilla all contribute to understanding our resiliency and to the healing and joy that telling our stories afford.”
In addition to a weeklong series of events highlighting Manilla’s work, the Appalachian Heritage Festival will take place Saturday, September 25, with workshops and a free evening concert.
Both programs are funded by the West Virginia Center for the Book, West Virginia Library Commission, West Virginia Humanities Council, Shepherd University Foundation, and Center for Appalachian Studies and Communities. These annual programs and Appalachian heritage celebrations are developed by the Performing Arts Series at Shepherd and the Center for Appalachian Studies and Communities.
Currently, face coverings are required for all indoor activities. Those attending performances in person will be required to follow Shepherd’s current COVID-19 policies. Before attending this or any event on campus, visit our COVID-19 information page to learn what policies are in effect.
For more information, including links to YouTube and Zoom sessions, visit the Marie Manilla Appalachian Writer-in-Residence webpage.
The schedule for the week includes:
September 1-30
- Images of Appalachia from the “Anthology of Appalachian Writers Dorothy Allison Volume XIII” exhibit in Scarborough Library, curator Mike Mendez. Virtual exhibit is available on the Marie Manilla webpage.
September 24
- 7 p.m., stories from West Virginia, with Shepherd University Storyteller-in-Residence Adam Booth. Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education auditorium and streamed live on Shepherd’s YouTube channel.
September 25
- 2 p.m., Carter Legacy Workshop, with Americana and bluegrass musician Linda Lay. Reynolds Hall.
- 3:30 p.m., conversation with fiddle and banjo player and National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Award recipient John Morris. Reynolds Hall.
- 7 p.m., Showcase Concert featuring West Virginia traditional musician John Morris, Freedom Songs with Dana Foddrell, and bluegrass with Linda Lay and Springfield Exit, Butcher Center Plaza. Audience members are asked to bring their own seating and in the case of inclement weather, the concert will move into the Frank Center Theater.
September 27
- 7 p.m., “Mother Jones and Transformation through Suffering,” with novelist Karen Spears Zacharias. Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education auditorium and streamed live on Shepherd’s YouTube channel.
September 28
- 7 p.m., “A Celebration of Appalachian Storytellers, ‘Anthology of Appalachian Writers, Dorothy Allison Volume XIII,’” with West Virginia Poet Laureate Marc Harshman and friends. Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education auditorium and streamed live on Shepherd’s YouTube channel.
September 29
- 9:30 a.m., Q&A with Marie Manilla and a conversation about the One Book One West Virginia selection, “The Patron Saint of Ugly” via Zoom.
- 3-4:30 p.m., Writers Master Class with Marie Manilla. Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education auditorium and via Zoom.
- 7 p.m., “The Writing Life” with Marie Manilla. Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education auditorium and streamed live on Shepherd’s YouTube channel.
September 30
- 8 a.m., Q&A with Marie Manilla and a conversation about the One Book One West Virginia selection, “Patron Saint of Ugly” via Zoom.
- 7 p.m., Appalachian Heritage Writer-in-Residence awards ceremony and reception. Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education auditorium and streamed live on Shepherd’s YouTube channel.
October 1
- 7 p.m., Fried Green Tomatoes movie screening and film discussion with Dr. Benjamin Bankhurst, associate professor of history. Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education auditorium and streamed live on Shepherd’s YouTube channel.
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