Wordsmiths

Rubbing elbows with local authors during the Virginia Literary Awards | Photos by Jay Paul

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Books

“The craft of spoiling paper,” is how Richmond writer James Branch Cabell, composer of 52 books, described his lifelong profession. It was also the title of an essay in his 1952 collection, “Quiet, Please: The Upshot of All Dreaming.” 

Fast-forward to Sept. 19, 2026, and some dreams came true for authors of fiction, nonfiction, poetry and children’s books during the 29th annual Virginia Literary Awards.

“Mailman: My Wild Ride Delivering the Mail in Appalachia and Finally Finding Home,” garnered author Stephen Starring Grant the award for nonfiction. The fiction recognition went to Princess Joy L. Perry for “This Here Is Love.” MaKshya Tolbert’s collection, and her debut book, “Shade Is a Place,” received the poetry prize. Meg Medina took home the Children’s Literature Award for “Graciela in the Abyss.” The People’s Choice Awards included Andrew Lawler’s “A Perfect Frenzy: A Royal Governor, His Black Allies, and the Crisis That Spurred the American Revolution” in the nonfiction category, and Virginia Evans’ “The Correspondent” came out on top for fiction.

The Art in Literature: The Mary Lynn Kotz Award, went to Sue Prideaux for “Wild Thing: A Life of Paul Gauguin.” This reassessment of the somewhat problematic artist has collected an assortment of honors. As I approached Prideaux in her book signing line, I remarked how her work provides explanation for how Gauguin was considered a bad roommate, and that he shouldn’t have been allowed around sharp bladed objects — just ask Van Gogh. The comment got a laugh, which served as a reward for waiting for my turn to chat with the author. 

This was my first time attending the prestigious awards ceremony as a journalist/guest, which I appreciated. Self-consciousness, however, interferes with my full enjoyment at these gatherings. I am, after a fashion, published, though comparisons invariably arise. Seems at times everybody in Richmond is writing a book, getting one published, or podcasting or TikTok-ing about the rites of writing. In my travels around town, I often see people engaged in public displays of reading. This is heartening, especially with the increasing competition for people’s attention. According to a 2025 analysis, four in 10 people in the country didn’t read a single book that year. Brittany Allen, in an early 2026 article published by the Literary Hub, put it this way: “The median American read two books in 2025. The average reader clocked in with eight. To put it starkly? 19% of American adults did 82% of the country’s reading.” 

And not all of these literary selections involved dog-eared pages to mark a memorable passage; the figures included the offerings of digital and audio. But, of those who read, the Pew Research Center reports most readers prefer going between physical covers. Some who enjoy recited words utilize audio books and virtual offerings in part because of portability, and the smaller expense and space required to store them.

The intermediary between wearying floor joists and spatial challenges are places like the Library of Virginia. It serves as a repository for books, archives and related materials so you don’t have to and shares these literary assets with cardholders. And, as I’ve for the past 40-some years shined a light on assorted aspects of history, I’ve often required the resources of the Library of Virginia to do so. Whether for the bound collections of early 1900s socialist crusader Adon A. Yoder’s “The Idea” pamphlet, or a photograph of the animated and illuminated Climax Ginger Ale sign that once entertained motorists crossing the Lee Bridge. And I’ve attempted to give some attention to the library’s public occasions and exhibitions. 

This night, though, concerned the writers of more recent days and their bodies of work as recognized by a panel of jurors. Prior to the ceremony, a cocktail reception mitigated some of the anxiety of anticipation. Here I encountered spouses Tim Reid and Daphne Maxwell Reid. I mentioned that I’d soon see them in the movie “The Cashier,” opening the Richmond International Film Festival. I understood, from my previous conversation with director Andy Edmunds, that Daphne needed to become acquainted with a certain cat who is featured in the film. The feline, named Mags, portrays Newt in the picture. Edmunds told me that she needed to spend considerable time with Mags for them to be comfortable with each other. Daphne resoundingly confirms the director's note, saying, “Oh, yes! And finally! Took us a while.” 

I also had the opportunity to catch up with David Baldacci after my interview with him for the September issue of Richmond magazine. I recently purchased his 2025 historical fiction novel, “Strangers in Time,” because, as an author of 54 books and counting, the man can write a hook of a first line.

Then I sidled alongside the dapper tuxedoed historian Jon Kukla, whom I know from my days as a reenactor presenting Patrick Henry’s “greatest hits” at Red Hill, Henry’s final residence. I even assessed Kukla’s 2017 biography of the Founding Father, “Patrick Henry: Champion of Liberty.” During the event, I observed to Kukla, “Poor Patrick Henry. They kept electing him governor to keep him out of the legislature.” Kukla responded with a chuckle. We then discussed the current imbroglio about the Diamond District and the new baseball stadium, the circumstances of which are likely to provide material for either a thriller novel or an opera. 

I also had a chance to chat with Judy Hart, who wrote “A National Park for Women’s Rights: The Campaign That Made It Happen.” The book details her personal journey to, as she explains, “create a park pertaining to women’s rights then researching it, then lobbying the [National] Park Service in Washington [D.C.] and then Congress and then the community of Seneca Falls.” In 1848, Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls, New York, served as the site of the first women’s rights convention. To assure the progress of the idea, she relocated to the area and became the founding superintendent of the Women’s Rights National Historical Park.

In the course of my pollinating across the room, the delightful Twyla Kitts introduced herself. A longtime arts educator and artist, she retired from the teaching staff of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and her backstory is worth a read. 

Just as occurs at performance spaces such as The Kennedy Center, chimes summoned us down to the evening’s main event: the seated awards ceremony. As I descended the grand stairs with care, I reminisced about how the late architectural historian and critic Ed Slipek analyzed the building in 1997. The structure designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, in affiliation with Glave, Newman, Anderson of Richmond, impressed him.

“The new library is a testament to the written word,” he enthused in an interview with The Roanoke Times. “Yikes. The starship has landed. … The soaring, three-story entrance atrium will take its place as one of the state’s great interiors. Every bit as heroic as the exterior, it achieves what good architecture aspires to but seldom achieves: to use proportion, materials, craftsmanship and light to lift the spirit. The building pulls one along. Visitors immediately know they’re in a library. Their eyes move up to the second-floor stacks, visible through glass walls. Looking straight ahead and up the granite staircase, they find the rare-book room. Reading rooms encircle the atrium.”

All these years later, it’s easy to forget the impact of the design. 

I found my place, thanks to a placard, at the lively table 25. Seated next to me was writer and educator Deirdra McAfee. On my other side was Library of Virginia Chief Communication Officer Angela Flagg, who keeps members of the media such as myself apprised of goings on at the library, such as “A Conversation With David Brooks,” presented Sept. 28 at the library in partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University and the inaugural lecture of the Baldacci Civil Discourse & Collaboration Initiative.

Acclaimed author Adriana Trigiani served as the award ceremony’s host. She gave appreciated recognition to the recent passing of two significant figures in American culture: first, the writer’s writer Annie Dillard, whom she reminded us was once a resident of Roanoke. Second, Trigiani mentioned how she worked on various projects with Dolly Parton. When they met, the first thing Parton asked her: “Who are you reading?” And the writer responded, “Lee Smith.” Parton without hesitation declared, “You’re hired.” Smith grew up in Grundy, and since then she’s created a number of plaudit-causing books about the South.

The cap to the evening was the awarding of the 2026 Patron of Letters degree, the highest honor the library can bestow, to the chair and CEO of The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Carly Fiorina. She spoke on the power of literacy and reading to uplift the human spirit.

Her words still resonated in my mind as I walked to the parking garage with a bag of signed books and a sense of pride in the written word. There are some fantastic works being created within the commonwealth’s borders, and the library’s Virginia Literary Awards offer a spotlight that will hopefully get these authors and many more onto some reading lists.