Participation Type
Panel
Session Title
Conversation with the Authors and Editors of the 2016 Weatherford Award Winning Books
Session Abstract or Summary
This panel brings together the three authors (non-fiction, fiction, and poetry) who won the 2016 Weatherford Award and two of their editors to share the story and insights of how their books came to be published and how work with the press helped to shape the book, including its design and marketing. The goal of the session is to demystify the work of authorship and the field of publishing, as well as to show how the creation of a book is a team effort. At issue is how the creative and scholarly process is realized through pragmatic mechanism, and we will also consider the commonalities and differences of these genres as seen through the lenses of the press, Appalachian Studies, and the creative or academic field the book belongs in. The moderator will facilitate discussion by sharing prompts and encouraging discussion among the panelists. Discussion topics will include how authors first conceived of the idea, the author's their writing process, how the press and the author found each other, how the manuscript changed as it evolved into the book. Editors will help us see behind the scene, sharing their rationale for selecting the book, how the press went about turning the manuscript into a book, and its role on the press's list. We will alo be taking audience questions throughout, and the moderator will ensure that each particpant recieves equal "air time."
Presentation #1 Title
Conversation with the Authors and Editors of the 2016 Weatherford Award Winning Books
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
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At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Chris Green is the director of the Loyal Jones Appalachian Center at Berea College and oversees the Weatherford Award for the best books about Appalachia. His scholarship is dedicated to researching the "social life" of literature, that is how writing comes into publication with a publisher that has a particular mission and audience.
Presentation #2 Title
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Presentation #2 Abstract or Summary
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At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #2
Crystal Wilkinson is the Appalachian Writer in Residence at Berea College and teaches and teaches in the Spalding low residency MFA in Creative Writing Program. Her latest book, The Birds of Opulence (University Press of Kentucky 2016) won the Weatherford Award in Fiction as well as the Winner of the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence.
Presentation #3 Title
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Presentation #3 Abstract or Summary
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At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #3
Patrick O'Dowd is an aquistions editor for the Univeristy Press of Kentuky, whose full-time staff of 17 publishes 50-55 titles per year in print and electronic formats. The Press has 1865 titles in print with annual sales of approximately $1.85 million.
Presentation #4 Title
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Presentation #4 Abstract or Summary
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At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #4
Marc Harshman is the poet laureate of West Virginia. His collection, Believe What You Can (Vandalia Press an imprint of West Virginia University Press) won the 2016 Weatherford Award for poetry. His thirteen highly acclaimed children’s books include The Storm, a Smithsonian Notable Book. He is the host of The Poetry Break, a monthly show for West Virginia Public Broadcasting.
Presentation #5 Title
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Presentation #5 Abstract or Summary
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At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #5
Abby Freeland holds two positions with West Virginia University Press: the sales and marketing director of all books and the acquisitions editor of Vandalia Press, their fiction imprint. As the sales and marketing director, she works to make books available and accessible to the public, and as acquisitions editor she evaluates pmanuscripts and works with writers until their material is polished enough to win final approval from WVUP's Board to publish.
Presentation #6 Title
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Presentation #6 Abstract or Summary
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At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #6
Dr. Steven E. Nash received the 2016 Weatherford Award for Best Appalachian Nonfiction for his book, Reconstruction’s Ragged Edge: The Postwar Life in the Southern Mountains (University of North Carolina Press). Dr. Nash is an Assistant Professor in History at East Tennessee State University where he specializes in 19th Century U.S. history, Civil War & Reconstruction, Appalachia, and environmental history.
Conversation with the Authors and Editors of the 2016 Weatherford Award Winning Books
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