Mountain Spirits Festival has been down-sized. Instead of a one-day festival, there will now be four smaller arts events—a Mountain Spirits Series—spaced throughout the year and held in conjunction with the Friends of the Library book sales on Saturday mornings at the Franklin County Library in downtown Rocky Mount.
The first event will be the morning of October 4, 2014. "Meet the Authors," featuring local and regional writers, will be in the upstairs meeting room. Authors will chat with visitors about their books, answer questions about writing and publishing, and have books available for sale. The used book sale will be in an adjoining room.
Stay tuned to this blog for info about books and authors at the October 4 event.
Mountain Spirits Festival is now the Mountain Spirits Series. First event is "Meet the Authors" on Oct. 4, 2014 at the library.
Showing posts with label authors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label authors. Show all posts
Monday, May 5, 2014
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Blue Ridge Mountain Books
Some of the books at the Mountain Spirits Arts Festival deal with life in the Blue Ridge Mountains. One is this Pleasant Land: A Blue Ridge History, written by the late Max S. Thomas. His daughter, Jean Thomas Schaeffer, will have it available in the authors' tent.
Last year, I blogged about Thomas's history of the Walnut Knob area of Franklin and Floyd Counties here: http://peevishpen.blogspot.com/2010/03/this-pleasant-land.html.
Fred First, a wonderful writer and blogger from Floyd County, will also have his books at the Festival:
Fred's books deal with life today in the Blue Ridge Mountains. His essays have been broadcast on WVTF. You can listen to one of them, "This Old House," here: http://www.wvtf.org/news_and_notes/audio/200912210719210.house.mp3
In the next few months, I'll blog about more of the books you can expect to see at the Mountain Spirits Arts Festival.
Edited to add update: It looks like Jean Thomas Schaeffer won't be able to attend the festival. However, her father's books should be available from the Franklin County Historical Society's table.
Last year, I blogged about Thomas's history of the Walnut Knob area of Franklin and Floyd Counties here: http://peevishpen.blogspot.com/2010/03/this-pleasant-land.html.
Fred First, a wonderful writer and blogger from Floyd County, will also have his books at the Festival:
In the next few months, I'll blog about more of the books you can expect to see at the Mountain Spirits Arts Festival.
Edited to add update: It looks like Jean Thomas Schaeffer won't be able to attend the festival. However, her father's books should be available from the Franklin County Historical Society's table.
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Posted by Becky Mushko
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Coming October 1st
On October 1, 2011, in Rocky Mount, Virginia, the Mountain Spirits Arts Festival will showcase and promote the rich cultural heritage of the people and their works in Franklin County and the surrounding region.
Many of the artisans, craftspeople, writers, and musicians who are invited to participate are from the Franklin County, but some are from surrounding counties and whose work contributes to the mountain culture.
I am the literary coordinator, responsible for selecting writers who live in the county and have recently published books, or who live in a nearby counties and whose writings contribute to Appalachian literature. I want the literary part of the festival to appeal to both readers and writers. Therefore, I've also invited some area writers groups to talk to any visitors who might be looking to join a writers group, and a publisher who publishes "Virginia books by Virginia authors."
I knew that space was limited, so—when I compiled my list of authors to invite—I tried to stick to these criteria:
From 10 AM until 4 PM, the authors will be under a tent near the Franklin Center, which is just across the parking lot from the Franklin County Library. They will display and sell their books, chat with folks who stop by their tables, and answer questions about their books or about how they were published.
Update: The authors' tent will now be in the parking lot next to Edible Vibe, which is at 315 Franklin Street, a block away from the library. The hospitality room for authors will be in the Franklin Center.
Another Update: We now have a full tent of authors. We will possibly start a waiting list for authors who meet the above criteria, with regional history at the top of the list.
I'll write more about specific authors or groups in future blog posts. Meanwhile, mark October 1, 2011, on your calendar. You don't want to miss what we hope will be an annual event.
Many of the artisans, craftspeople, writers, and musicians who are invited to participate are from the Franklin County, but some are from surrounding counties and whose work contributes to the mountain culture.
I am the literary coordinator, responsible for selecting writers who live in the county and have recently published books, or who live in a nearby counties and whose writings contribute to Appalachian literature. I want the literary part of the festival to appeal to both readers and writers. Therefore, I've also invited some area writers groups to talk to any visitors who might be looking to join a writers group, and a publisher who publishes "Virginia books by Virginia authors."
I knew that space was limited, so—when I compiled my list of authors to invite—I tried to stick to these criteria:
- Books about local/regional/Blue Ridge history, culture, memoir (either commercially published or self-published).
- Fiction/non-fiction (either commercially published or self-published) set in the Appalachian region.
- Commercially published authors (either fiction or non-fiction) who live in Franklin County but whose book isn't necessarily about the area.
- Authors who live in surrounding counties and have books of regional/Appalachian interest.
From 10 AM until 4 PM, the authors will be under a tent near the Franklin Center, which is just across the parking lot from the Franklin County Library. They will display and sell their books, chat with folks who stop by their tables, and answer questions about their books or about how they were published.
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| The Franklin Center, as seen from the library window. |
Update: The authors' tent will now be in the parking lot next to Edible Vibe, which is at 315 Franklin Street, a block away from the library. The hospitality room for authors will be in the Franklin Center.
Another Update: We now have a full tent of authors. We will possibly start a waiting list for authors who meet the above criteria, with regional history at the top of the list.
I'll write more about specific authors or groups in future blog posts. Meanwhile, mark October 1, 2011, on your calendar. You don't want to miss what we hope will be an annual event.
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