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2024 N.C. Piedmont Laureate Full-year Report

16 Monday Dec 2024

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(Queer Pride Panel at Quail Ridge Books in partnership with the LGBTQ Center of Raleigh, June 18, 2024)

I am pleased to submit the Piedmont Laureate’s full year report for 2024. I am deeply grateful to the sponsoring agencies, the City of Raleigh Arts Commission, Durham Arts Council, Orange County Arts Commission, and United Arts Council of Raleigh & Wake County. The report is in four main sections:

  • Metrics
  • Blog posts
  • Events
  • Partnerships

It’s been a spectacular year—and I’m sorry to see it end so quickly. I focused closely on our mission, which included supporting libraries and independent book stores and working in collaboration with LGBTQ+ groups and those impacting seniors. There’s much more below.

“Its primary goal is to promote awareness and heighten appreciation for excellence in the literary arts in the Piedmont region of North Carolina. The program is dedicated to building a literary bridge for residents to come together and celebrate the art of writing, enriching the lives of all our citizens.”

  1. Metrics (2024 v. 2023, full year)

Google search results (using “Piedmont Laureate”)

  • Full year, 2023: 2,610 results
  • Full year, 2024: 5,260 results (more than a 100 percent increase year over year)

Site traffic reports for piedmontlaureate.org:

Jan-November 2023

Jan – 1,002 views / 594 visitors
Feb – 930 views / 606 visitors
March – 830 views / 553 visitors
April – 810 views / 484 visitors
May – 542 views / 314 visitors
June – 528 views / 350 visitors
July – 1,324 views/ 901 visitors
August -1,506 views/ 869 visitors
Sept – 960 views/458 visitors
Oct – 568 views/358 visitors
Nov – 771 views/486 visitors
Dec (through 12/10) -207 views/184 visitors

Total: 4,624 views / 2,901 visitors

Jan-November 2024
Jan – 395 views / 226 visitors
Feb – 727 views / 541 visitors
March – 454 views / 294 visitors
April – 2,667 views / 1,944 visitors 
May – 1,383 views / 1,130 visitors
June – 461 views  / 340 visitors
July – 528 views/ 380 visitors
Aug – 672 views/502 visitors
Sept – 762 views/628 visitors
Oct – 1,465 views/1,035 visitors
Nov – 762 views/578 visitors
Dec (12/10) – 254 views/206 visitors

Total: 6,087 views /4,475 visitors 

Views are up about 40 percent and visitors up 50 percent year over year.

  1. Piedmont Laureate Blog Posts
  1. Events

Big Night in for the Arts Watch Party
March 7, 2024
Durham Arts Council

A very full house; I did a reading for about 20 VIP/donors and a live interview with the sponsoring TV station, WRAL.

A Piedmont Laureate conversation with Damon Tweedy, MD about his new book on mental health at Quail Ridge Books.
April 10, 2024
}United Arts Council

Approximately 70 people in attendance.

Notes: I was thrilled to be Dr. Damon Tweedy’s “conversation partner” at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh this week. Together we were taking about his new book, Facing the Unseen, which is about the mental health crisis in this country, in our hospitals, and within our families. Tweedy, the bestselling author of Black Man in a White Coat and a professor of psychiatry at the Duke School of Medicine, has written another powerful volume, one that combines expert interviews, personal experience, and policy analysis to examine how the medical system fails people with mental illness. As he writes, “When a system marginalizes mental health … patients pay the price.”

“The Nature of Writers and Social Change” at the Durham County Library
April 12, 2024
Main branch, Durham County Library
Durham Arts Council

Approximately 25 people in attendance

Notes: On Friday, April 12, 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm, I’ll be moderating a discussion at the Durham County Library along with Jaki Shelton Green (North Carolina’s Poet Laureate) and Marcie Cohen Ferris (food writer and thinker) titled “The Nature of Writers and Social Change.” With my two guests I know this will be a fascinating conversation about what artists can do to promote the issues we care about in these challenging times. The event is free but pre-registration is required. This is part of Library Fest Durham County Library and is sponsored by the Durham Arts Council.

“We Write To Make It Better”
June 22, 2024
Chapel Hill main library in partnership with Flyleaf Books
Orange County Arts Commission

Approximately 50 present, including many young people and diverse families.

Notes: June is here, and we’re gearing up for all the amazing events we have planned! On Saturday, June 22, we are heading over to Chapel Hill Public Library with five incredible authors to celebrate and discuss the importance of YA LGBTQ+ voices and stories. Join us for the panel at 2 pm!. The afternoon will feature conversation and readings from YA authors S. Jae-Jones, Nita Tyndall, Sarah Van Name, and Jeremy Whitley and will be moderated by the 2024 NC Piedmont Laureate Steven Petrow. Topics discussed may include creating diverse and queer characters, the writing process, and book-banning. There will be an opportunity to purchase books by these authors and have them signed at the event.

Pride Panel at Quail Ridge Books
June 18th
Quail Ridge Books in partnership with the LGBT Center of Raleigh. (A portion of all sales went to The Center that evening.)
United Arts

A standing room only crowd—about 70.

Notes: Join us for a panel of incredible North Carolina authors in celebration of Pride Month! This event is free to attend and seating is first come, first served. A portion of all sales at the event will be donated to the LGBT Center of Raleigh. Please RSVP below if you plan to join us! This helps us get an accurate count for seating and available books and keeps you updated about any changes. All live author events are subject to change. More information about our events can be found here. 

Book Talk with LGBTQ+ Seniors at Five Points Adult Center 
August 12th 
In partnership with Five Points Adult Center in Raleigh
Raleigh Arts

Approximately 25  standing room only crowd—about 70.

Notes: I had such a good time last week at Five Points Center for Active Adults. Not only did we have a great turnout—see the photo below—but I loved this queer audience of seniors who had great questions and dilemmas coming from their own life experiences (especially this one: “I’m 82, do I really have to tell people my age?”)

Pub day Debut of The Joy You Make
September 19
At Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill
Orange County Arts Commission
60+ people

Two days after the book’s publication date last week, I had the official kick-off for The Joy You Make, at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill. This is now my third launch at Flyleaf—and it’s always so fun to be with the hometown crowd, as well as to support another independent bookstore. Bridget Booker, a neighbor, a writer, and a long-time friend, was my conversation partner and we really got into the ways that all of us can cultivate more joy in our lives. As I said to the standing room only audience, this book is a roadmap to finding more joy in your life—in nature, our memories, by re-creating recipes we cherish, by being in the presence of others, by doing nothing, and by taking up a game or two again (not to win, but to be with others). I also like that on my media tour I get to talk about what it means to be Piedmont Laureate. For now, I’ll just say this: It is so gratifying!

Book Reading and Conversation about The Joy You Make
Sept 19
In conjunction with the Orange County Arts Commission and with The News of Orange

50+ individuals

National Banned Books Week Panel
September 24th
At So & So Books in Raleigh
Raleigh Arts

Approximately 15 in attendance 

The last week of every September is officially Banned Books Week throughout the U.S., thanks to the American Library Association. In this panel discussion to be held at So and So Books, 2024 N.C. Piedmont Laureate Steven Petrow will lead a discussion about the threat books bans pose to freedom and democracy and more granularly to young people, LGBTQ+ individuals, librarians, and other marginalized people. Our focus is on the right to choose and the right to read.

Steven Petrow (moderator) is the 2024 N.C. Piedmont Laureate, a columnist for The Washington Post, and the author of the just published book, The Joy You Make. His TED Talk, “3 Ways to Practice Civility,” has been viewed nearly 2 million times.

Belle Boggs is the author of The Gulf: A Novel; The Art of Waiting; and Mattaponi Queen: Stories. The Art of Waiting. She is an associate professor of English at North Carolina State University, where she also directs the MFA program in creative writing.

Jaki Shelton Green, ninth Poet Laureate of North Carolina is the first African American and third woman to be appointed as the North Carolina Poet Laureate.

Ed Southern has been the executive director of the North Carolina Writers’ Network, one of the largest writers’ organizations of its kind in the country, since 2008 In 2015 he won the Fortner Award for service to the literary arts in North Carolina.

Scott Summers is a librarian and educator serving as the Assistant Director of the Media and Education Technology Resource Center in the College of Education at NC State University. He was recognized as one of the “people shaping the future of libraries” as a 2024 Library Journal Mover and Shaker.

Worth Parker is a retired United States Marine turned writer. He lives in Wilmington, NC with his wife and daughter. He Has written for The New York Times, Garden and Gun Magazine, The Bitter Southerner, among other publications.

Wake County Libraries Celebrate Local Authors With Special Series
October 4
Downtown Cary Park
Approximately a dozen

I was overjoyed to join Wake County Public Libraries’ Read Local 2024, a celebration of local authors and the craft of writing. Open to residents of all ages who are invited to discover the creative voices within their community through a series of virtual and in-person programs. Bridget Booher, a non-fiction writer based in Hillsborough, kindly served as my “conversation partner” at this event. “We’re thrilled to bring together our community’s talented authors and provide a platform for them to share their stories and insights,” said Wake County Commissioner Cheryl Stallings. “Read Local is all about celebrating the creativity that exists right here in Wake County. Whether you’re an aspiring writer or simply love a good book, we encourage everyone to explore the opportunities available.”

Read Local 2024 offers a unique opportunity to connect with local authors, learn about the writing process and find inspiration. With a wide range of events tailored for families, kids, teens and adults, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.

Town of Chapel Hill’s “Plain Language for Us All”
October 10th
In partnership with the Town of Chapel Hill
Orange County Arts Commission

50+ individuals

I delivered the keynote at the Town of Chapel Hill’s “Plain Language for Us All,” a conference/event that drew about 50 of the Town’s staff to talk about how we can better communicate with each other and various other stakeholders. I delivered the keynote– titled, “An Antidote to Fear”—where I described the many ways that we have more in common than is usually thought. With families, communities, and the nation as a whole divided, we need to better understand what binds us rather than what divides us.

What You Can Do to Reclaim Civility in American Life
October 23 (virtual event)
In partnership with the Wake County Public Libraries and Durham County Library
United Arts and Durham Arts Council
200+

Each week, it seems, brings more challenges to civility in our daily lives—whether in the political sphere, our communities, even in our friendship and family circles. Clearly, what we’re doing isn’t working but what can be done? Steven Petrow, the 2024 North Carolina Piedmont Laureate and TED Talk speaker (“3 Ways to Practice Civility”), convenes some of our nation’s best thinkers on how to overcome the polarization, isolation, and loneliness that is fueling this crisis of civility. Says Petrow: “We really have no choice if we are to survive. We’ve got to regain our ability not only to speak to each other but to listen, to disagree without disrespect, and to re-find our common ground as inhabitants of this great land. Each of our participants will bring specific and concrete ways that we can do better, starting now.”

This virtual program is co-sponsored by the Wake County Public Libraries and Durham County Library, as well as the Durham Arts Council and the United Arts Wake County.

Meet the Panelists: 

LIZZIE POST is a co-president, author and spokesperson for The Emily Post Institute. She is a great-great-granddaughter of Emily Post. Lizzie spearheads the Institute’s publishing efforts and co-hosts the podcast, Awesome Etiquette. She regularly shares advice about entertaining, weddings, dating, identity, finance and lifestyle, and how we can get along better with each other.

PRESTON BRIGHTWELL is a Field Director for Unite and the Dignity Index team. His primary work is on the Students For Dignity National Campaign, which is tasked with bringing the Students for Dignity model to campuses across the country. What excites him most about this work is the power it has to promote healthy disagreement and solve the most pertinent problems facing our nation. 

RAYMOND MAR is currently a full professor of psychology at York University in Toronto. His lab investigates how imagined experiences affect how we think, feel, and behave in the real-world, with a particular focus on how stories engage our imagination.  

“Engaging with fictional stories and the characters within them might help us better understand our real-world peers,” he’s written. Mar has received the Tom Trabasso Young Investigator award from the Society for Text and Discourse, a Radboud Excellence Professorship from Radboud University (NL), and held the Fulbright Canada Research Chair at the University of Southern California’s Center on Public Diplomacy in 2023. 

TANIA ISRAEL is a Professor of Counseling Psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara and award-winning author of Beyond Your Bubble: How to Connect Across the Political Divide, Skills and Strategies for Conversations That Work (APA, 2020). Dr. Israel’s work on dialogue across political differences has been received enthusiastically by professional conferences, corporations, campuses, political organizations, and faith communities.  

MADELEINE JONES is a Dignity Index Field Director at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, where she supports the Students for Dignity, develops training curriculums, and advances the goals of the UNITE initiative. Madeleine studied political science, psychology and sociology at the University of Utah. Throughout her academic career, she worked on the development team at the Granite Education Foundation, interned for the Office of Legislative Research and General Council, and participated in the Dignity Index Pilot Project.

Screening and Discussion of Silent Pioneers Documentary with LGBTQIA+ elders
November 12
Five Points Center for Active Adults
Raleigh Arts

12+ individuals

What a pleasure it was for me to return to the Five Points Center for Active Adults to present the documentary, Silent Pioneers, and led a conversation with an engaging group of LGBTQIA+ elders. Thanks to Jimmie Overton and Tawnie Gong.

Oberlin Writers’ Group: Finding Joy with Steven Petrow
November 19
In partnership with the Oberlin branch of the Wake County Libraries
United Arts

35+ individuals

I have to say that I had an amazing time at the Oberlin Writers’ Group at the Oberlin Regional Library on November 17. And if I can be so bold, I believe the same is true of the 30-plus writers-in-training who came out on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Special thanks to Alexander Youngman, Adult Services Librarian at the Library.

The following day Alex sent an email that read:

“…here’s a quote from an email I got from a participant on Sunday: “I SO THOROUGHLY enjoyed tonight’s meeting!! Thrilled I was able to attend, and Steven was MAGNIFICENT!!”

Alex added: “As you can tell, it went really well. There was great energy in the room, a lot of good discussions, and people really enjoyed hearing from Steven in between working on the prompts. I couldn’t be happier with the event!”

  1. Partnerships

As I stated in my original application my intent is to forge or deepen relationships between the Piedmont Laureate and our public libraries and independent bookstores, as well as other non-profits. 

  • Wake County Public Libraries
  • Chapel Hill Library
  • Durham County Library
  • Quail Ridge Books
  • Flyleaf Books
  • The LGBT Center of Raleigh
  • So and So Books, Raleigh
  • Purple Crow Books, Hillsborough
  • NC Writers’ Network
  • NC State
  • The New of Orange, Hillsborough

And that’s a wrap. Thanks to all for an amazing tenure as the 2024 North Carolina Piedmont Laureate.

Piedmont Laureate Talks: Wake County Libraries Celebrate Local Authors With Special Series

04 Friday Oct 2024

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I was overjoyed to join Wake County Public Libraries’ Read Local 2024, a celebration of local authors and the craft of writing. Open to residents of all ages who are invited to discover the creative voices within their community through a series of virtual and in-person programs. Bridget Booher (pictured with me above), a non-fiction writer based in Hillsborough, kindly served as my “conversation partner” at this event.

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“We’re thrilled to bring together our community’s talented authors and provide a platform for them to share their stories and insights,” said Wake County Commissioner Cheryl Stallings. “Read Local is all about celebrating the creativity that exists right here in Wake County. Whether you’re an aspiring writer or simply love a good book, we encourage everyone to explore the opportunities available.”

Read Local 2024 offers a unique opportunity to connect with local authors, learn about the writing process and find inspiration. With a wide range of events tailored for families, kids, teens and adults, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.

Highlights include:

Write Here, Write Now: Crafting Your Story
Wednesdays, Sept. 11–Oct. 16
6:30 p.m.
Virtual
Join bestselling North Carolina authors for this six-part series that dives deep into the craft of writing a successful novel. Get insider tips and practical guidance on everything from plot development to character creation. Participating authors include Heather Frese, John Kessel, Evelyn Goldman, Meagan Church, Mazey Eddings and Daniel Wallace. Learn more and register at guides.wake.gov/write.

Read Local Celebration
Sunday, Oct. 6
1–4 p.m.
Downtown Cary Park
Enjoy an afternoon of authors at the park! Bring books or purchase them on-site to be signed.

  • 1 p.m.: Kwame Mbalia, award-winning and best-selling author of the Tristan Strong trilogy and editor of New York Times best-seller “Black Boy Joy: 17 Stories Celebrating Black Boyhood,” takes us on a fantastical journey with his newly released book “Jax Freeman and the Phantom Shriek.”
     
  • 2:30 p.m.: North Carolina Piedmont Laureate Steven Petrow, award-winning journalist and author, reads from and discusses his newly released book “The Joy You Make: Find the Silver Linings – Even on Your Darkest Days.”
     
  • 4 p.m.: Vanessa Miller, best-selling Christian fiction author, playwright and motivational speaker, will read from and discuss “The American Queen,” a historical novel featuring a strong Black woman who became queen in the post-bellum South.

Piedmont Laureate Reviews:  “In My Time of Dying” by Sebastian Junger 

16 Tuesday Jul 2024

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In his latest book, “In My Time of Dying,” the author of “The Perfect Storm” takes us on what may be the wildest and most frightening ride of his career. To read my full review, please click here.

For decades now, Sebastian Junger has taken readers to some of the most dangerous, bloody and remote outposts on this planet, including the deep sea (“The Perfect Storm”) and Afghanistan (“War”). In his latest book, “In My Time of Dying,” Junger takes us on what may be the wildest and most frightening ride of his career — not to the point of no return, but to its very precipice.

June 15, 2020, dawned for Junger much like any other not-quite-summer day on Cape Cod. But a silent storm had been brewing in the writer, then 58. That morning he was “wrenched from sleep by a dream of my wife and daughters sobbing and holding each other while I hovered over their heads, unable to communicate with them.” He screamed at them; he waved at them. It did not matter. In his dream, he learned that he had died, because as a voice explained to him, “I’d been careless.” He did not immediately connect that dream to the intermittent pain he’d had in his abdomen for more than nine months. He’d been ignoring it, since it came and went, but he remembers thinking at one point, “This is the kind of pain where you later find out you’re going to die.”

The next morning, he was awakened not by a dream, but by the pain, which soon ebbed. That afternoon, he uncharacteristically suggested to his wife that they visit a writing studio located deep in their wooded property. In some of the most compelling prose of his career, Junger details what happened next: “My abdomen seemed to be simply made of pain and nothing else,” and suddenly he was teetering between life and death. “Halfway to the hospital, a spasm shot through me that lifted my body off the stretcher. It felt like hot lava had been injected into me. A few minutes later I lost control of my bowels and a foul-smelling liquid left me, mostly blood.”

To read more, click here.

ACLU and ACLU of South Carolina Sound Alarm on Sweeping New Book Ban Law, Now In Effect

26 Wednesday Jun 2024

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After a South Carolina regulation on book banning went into effect on June 25, 2024, Jace Woodrum, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of S.C. told me: 

“South Carolinians are less free today than they were yesterday. By crafting and promoting a broad new book-banning policy, Superintendent Ellen Weaver has handed a blunt instrument to her ideological allies in the pro-censorship lobby. We still believe in academic freedom and will fight tooth and nail alongside teachers, librarians, students, and parents against the ongoing campaign of harassment and intimidation in public schools and libraries.”

Here’s more background on the new regulation from the ACLU and ACLU S.C.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A South Carolina regulation that would enable mass censorship of books in school classrooms and libraries is set for automatic approval tomorrow, June 25th.

Titled “Uniform Procedure for Selection or Reconsideration of Instructional Materials,” this regulation was crafted by Ellen Weaver’s South Carolina Department of Education and sets a statewide policy banning books that contain descriptions of “sexual conduct” and “excretory functions.” This broad definition could be used to remove a vast range of literature from South Carolina schools, including classics like The Canterbury Tales, 20th-century masterpieces like 1984, and even children’s books like Everyone Poops.

“Superintendent Weaver is seeking to hand unprecedented power to pro-censorship groups, overriding students’ freedom to read as well as parents’ right to direct their own children’s education,” said Josh Malkin, advocacy director at ACLU of South Carolina. “At a time when we can’t afford to lose more educators, the superintendent’s book banning policy would place mountains of paperwork and a threat of punishment on the backs of public school teachers and librarians. We’re calling on the superintendent to walk back this dangerous and draconian regulation.”

This broad-reaching policy is set to take effect automatically, despite the fact that it was not debated or voted upon by either the state Senate or House as process typically dictates. School districts can decide if this policy applies retroactively, however it is automatic going forward. Librarians have been left without guidance as to how to go forward with future purchases, and there’s worry that the districts that decide to defend books will be flooded with challenges. A similar policy in Iowa, for example, has already led to the removal of books including Native Son, Ulysses, and The Color Purple from schools.

Over the past year, pro-censorship organizations have tried banning books in bulk via local school boards in at least a dozen counties, but they have largely been thwarted when districts listened to parents, teachers, and librarians who actually read the books. As the ACLU of South Carolina has repeatedly explained, the regulation would undermine parental rights and harm public education by throwing open the floodgates for mass book bans by encouraging self-appointed censors to impose their beliefs on all South Carolinians via appeals to the State Board of Education.

South Carolina’s regulation is part of a troubling nationwide book ban trend. The American Library Association recently documented that in 2023, 4,240 unique book titles were targeted for censorship, and there were over 1,247 demands to censor library books, materials, and resources.

The ACLU and ACLU of South Carolina will continue to fight for a public education system where all students can see themselves, their experiences, and their histories reflected on library shelves — as well as where they can learn to think for themselves.

The Piedmont Laureate Interview: Daniel (Big Fish) Wallace talks about the perils of secrets, advice for new writers, and why he wrote a memoir

24 Friday May 2024

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Whenever Daniel Wallace comes to my house, I’m left searching. I don’t mean for anything meta but for the tiniest rubber ducks acclaimed Chapel Hill writer leaves in his wake. I’ve found them on a book shelf, in my bathroom, even in my car (how did he manage to do that?). No matter, they quack delight. Daniel doesn’t quack himself, but his work exudes delight and by that I trust in the Merriam-Webster definition– “extreme pleasure or satisfaction.” Even his most recent book, This Isn’t Going to End Well, which is threaded with darkness, is such a satisfying experience. It’s also quite a departure for Wallace, best known for his novels like Big Fish and The Kings and Queens of Roam. Recently, Daniel agreed to answer my questions. Here are his answers.

Photo credit: Kate Medley

Q: You’re best known as a novelist and as the author of Big Fish, a novel of mythic proportions (as you wrote). This Isn’t Going to End Well is quite the departure. Why did you leave the fictional realm?

A: This book found me. In 2011, my sister died, and as we were sifting through the remnants of her life, I found a box of journals in the back of a closet. They belong to her husband, William Nealy, my brother-in-law. He was my mentor, a great man who stored vast amounts of knowledge and expertise in an unbelievably capacious mind, an artist and an adventurer – who, in 2001, had died by suicide. When I read these journals – after years of soul-searching – I discovered the presence of another man within the one we knew. This story of a self and its shadow self is what compelled me to write this book.

Q: How was it different—as a writer, in terms of process—to pen this book?

A: I faced a lot of perils writing this book. Writing intimately about my family. Sharing secrets that weren’t necessarily mine to tell, and sharing parts of myself too. These were challenges. But in the end all stories are the same. It’s all about telling a story sentence to sentence, page to page, something that keeps a reader reading. Finding out what happens next.

Caption: A Daniel Wallace original drawing, 2024

Q: What do you hope readers will take away from This Isn’t Going to End Well?

A: I don’t know, really. Every reader will find ways in which their own story or stories about someone close might overlap with this one. But exactly how and why I could never know unless they told me, and sometimes they do. My goal is always to make the experience of reading powerful, charged, consuming, and what happens after that is individual, personal, unknown to me.

Q: What do you love most about being a writer? What do you hate?

A: I love the writing, day-to-day. I love seeing what happens next. When I sit down to write I have no idea what’s about to happen so it’s as much a surprise to me as it is to my readers. The actual publishing process can be time-consuming, tedious, and arduous, especially when I just want to get started on another book. But it’s all good!

Q: I know you also teach creative writing at UNC Chapel Hill. What advice do you have for those who want to write, regardless of genre?

A: It’s the same for all of us, isn’t it? Read what you love, write what you love. If it sustains you, brings you joy, do it no matter what.

The Piedmont Laureate Interviews New York Times Bestselling novelist, Jill McCorkle, about her new book, “Old Crimes: and Other Stories” 

06 Monday May 2024

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When I bump into neighbor and bestselling novelist, Jill McCorkle, on one of Hillsborough’s tree-lined streets, I know it’s going to be a good day. There’s her smile for starters, and her Southern accent, which she says befuddles even Siri, and a big heart that embraces friend and stranger alike. Earlier this year her latest collection of stories, Old Crimes, was published to rave reviews. “Dazzling,” “splendid,” and “extraordinary” are just a few of her recent accolades. 

Q: You’ve been quite busy the past several years and now you have this new collection of stories. What was the impetus?

A: I always have a story idea or two in progress but find that when fully involved in a novel, I put the stories aside and just continue to add details and thoughts along the way as I store up for time post novel to give attention. Several of the stories had been published earlier, but the bulk of them were ideas left to simmer. I find that when this happens, there is often a thematic connection that begins to take shape, the same as it would if they were parts of a novel.  

Q: The promotional copy for Old Crimes says that you take “us deep into these conflicted and sympathetic characters, puzzling to figure out the meaning of their own lives.” Did writing these stories help you figure out more about the meaning of your own life?

A: I think that it is impossible to fully immerse yourself in a project and the lives of others, and not learn something about yourself, or experience a kind of resurrection—for better or worse–of a particular time or place or memory. I think the real beauty of aging is the ability to look back and see connections and meanings that you never saw before. For me—and I suspect for most of us—this is an endless process

Q: Would you characterize yourself as a Southern writer? If not, why not?

A: I am definitely a Southern writer in that I was born and raised in the south with all of my earliest memories firmly rooted in the microcosm of my hometown. I have an accent that Siri can’t decipher even after living in New England for 20 years. I share that complicated love/hate of the south that so many do. You love the foliage and language and much you associate with the notion of home and you despise a history steeped in racism and hatred and rigid judgments of all kinds.  I think that the danger of being labeled as a “southern” writer would be if it implies that your work is only of interest to others of the same region. In this collection, my characters move back and forth, sometimes in the south and sometimes in New England. After years of teaching in both places, I have come to think that on the page, the biggest divide is rural/ urban.  Students from small towns in New Hampshire or Maine often were very similar to those of the Carolinas. Different language and weather, but thematically kin.  

Q: When you are writing, what does a “typical” day look like for you?

A: I’m always writing and it was a great realization when I discovered that there was no on/off switch but a constant return/ revisit/ recognize all along the way. As a result, I am a compulsive note taker for fear of losing those fragments that blow in and out all day.  Then, when I sit down, I have a beginning of some sort and start typing. I love early morning and that is the time for collecting the ideas and thoughts and revisiting what is in place. I never come to the keyboard empty handed. I like that writing is so portable and so my day is pretty flexible as I go here and there, storing up for a big block of time that allows me to dive in. After almost 40 years, I am only now not teaching on a formal schedule and so I am coming into a place that offers more time than I have had since I was in college.  

Q: Do you have any suggestions for people who want to become writers, whether fiction, non-fiction or any other genre?

A: To borrow from Nike, the best advice really is Just Do It–get something on the page.  The best advice I got as a young writer was that I NOT censor or edit myself prematurely, that I get rid of whoever it was standing behind me with judgment and criticism, so that the first draft offered no concerns except to the characters and situation on the page. I begin each project telling myself that no one will ever have to see it, so let it fly.  It’s liberating to give yourself total freedom and THEN, in revision, you can think about other aspects, problem solve, etc. But there’s no way to get to step two without step one. You cannot sculpt something without first producing a big messy chunk of clay.