Virginia
Literary Awards Finalists Announced
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The Library has announced finalists for the 2024 Virginia Literary Awards, presented to outstanding
Virginia authors in the areas of fiction, nonfiction and poetry. The nonfiction
category includes any author whose book is on a Virginia subject. This year the
Library will also present the new Children’s Virginia Literary Award.
The fiction finalists are Rachel Beanland, “The House Is On
Fire”; Sadeqa Johnson, “The House of Eve”; and Angie
Kim, “Happiness Falls.” The nonfiction finalists are Edward L.
Ayers, “American Visions: The United States, 1800–1860”; Ashley
Shew, “Against Technoableism: Rethinking Who Needs Improvement”; and
Elizabeth R. Varon, “Longstreet: The Confederate General Who
Defied the South.” The poetry finalists are Ariana Benson, “Black
Pastoral: Poems”; Bob Hicok, “Water Look Away”; and
Janine Joseph, “Decade of the Brain: Poems.” The Children’s
Virginia Literary Award finalists are Kwame Alexander, “An
American Story”; Andrea Beatriz Arango, “Something Like Home”;
and Vashti Harrison, “Big.”
The winners will be announced at the Virginia Literary Awards Celebration
on Saturday, Sept. 21, hosted by award-winning author Adriana Trigiani. The
ticketed event and a silent auction raise support for the Library’s conservation,
education and community outreach initiatives. The awards are presented by Dominion
Energy and supported by Carole and Marcus Weinstein.
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Library Receives
Grant Funds from the Virginia Law Foundation to Support the Gov. Nelson Papers
Project
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The Library of Virginia Foundation has received a $40,000 grant from the Virginia
Law Foundation in support of a Library of Virginia project to conserve and
digitize the executive papers of Thomas Nelson, Virginia's fourth governor,
elected in 1781. The collection includes more than 2,000 documents.
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The Virginia Law Foundation provides grants that advance its mission to uphold the
Rule of Law, expand access to justice, and enhance law-related education. The
grant will go toward matching funds for the project from a Save America's
Treasures grant, a matching grant program. If you would like to help preserve
important documents like these, please contact Elaine
McFadden at 804.692.3592.
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Shown left to right are Chelle
Davis, Betsy Fowler and Samuel Hayes.
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Gov.
Youngkin Announces Library of Virginia
Board
Appointments
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Gov. Glenn Youngkin recently announced three new appointments to the Library of
Virginia Board: Chelle Davis, of Virginia Beach, director of board operations for
the University of Richmond; Betsy Fowler, of Williamsburg, retired director of the
Williamsburg Regional Library; and Samuel Hayes, of Glen Allen, CEO and founder of
Stratageum, a management consultancy. We are delighted to welcome them to the
Library.
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Charris Brooks, at right,
shown here with Barry Trott, the Library of Virginia’s adult services
consultant, is the first candidate in Virginia to graduate in an online high
school pilot program through her local public library.
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First
Candidate Receives Diploma in Library-sponsored Online High School Pilot
Program
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When Charris Brooks of Winchester received her high school diploma last month, she
was the first candidate to graduate in a Library of Virginia–sponsored pilot
program offering accredited high school diplomas to nontraditional students
through Career Online High
School. "Finishing high school was personal for me because I have five
children," said Brooks, "and I felt like I couldn't keep telling them to finish
high school if I haven't finished myself."
The program is funded by the Library Development and Networking Division
and offered through three Virginia public library systems in areas with high
levels of community members who have not completed a high school degree: Handley
Regional Library, Rockbridge Regional Library and Richmond Public Library. There
are currently six other participants completing their coursework in the program.
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See
“Indigenous Perspectives” Before it Closes on Aug. 17
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Don’t miss our current exhibition, “Indigenous Perspectives,” before it closes on
Saturday, Aug. 17! View excerpts from video interviews with citizens of Virginia’s
11 federally and state-recognized tribes, archival records from the Library’s
collection and objects contributed by the tribes that reflect their traditions and
culture.
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LVA
On the Go Visits Bristol and Hampton in August
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The Library continues its statewide
tour in August as our LVA On the Go van brings some of the Library’s vast
resources, staff expertise and programming to locations across the
Commonwealth.
Stops at the Bristol Public Library on Saturday, Aug. 17
and the Hampton Public
Library on Friday, Aug. 23 will engage visitors with local
history, family history, educational materials and more.
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HBCU
Scholars Fellow Talk Explores the Segregated Education Experience in Rural
Virginia
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The Library and Virginia Humanities will present a free lunchtime talk on
Wednesday, Aug. 28 with poet and author Latorial Faison, Ed.D.,
an assistant professor of English at Virginia State University and a Virginia
Humanities HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) Scholars Fellow.
Her presentation will explore African American students' perceptions of the
segregated education experience in rural Virginia and consider how segregated
Black schools helped to provide the social prowess necessary to navigate and
survive a Jim Crow South.
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Panel
Discussion Commemorates 60th Anniversary of the Desegregation of Brunswick
High School
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On Sept. 9, 1964, 15 African American students forcibly desegregated Brunswick
High School in Lawrenceville, Virginia. This pivotal moment in the state’s history
took place a decade after the landmark ruling in the U.S. Supreme Court case Brown
v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, which stated that racial segregation in
public schools was unconstitutional. Join us on Thursday, Sept. 5 at 6
p.m. for a free panel discussion with eight of the surviving former
students now known as the Brunswick 15, as they engage in a conversation about
their courageous actions that day.
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September’s First
Fridays at LVA Features Underground Art
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View a display by Virginia artists, enjoy refreshments, and get creative in our
makerspace during the next First Fridays event at the Library on Sept. 6
at 5 p.m. September’s theme is Underground Art, which includes artistic
expressions beyond the conventional boundaries of the mainstream art world, such
as graffiti or street art, tattoo art, comic strips and zines.
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