The Anthology of Appalachian Writers, supported by the Shepherd University Foundation and the West Virginia Center for the Book, is a publication that encourages a long-established tradition of storytelling, love of language, and creative expression associated broadly with the area of the country known as Appalachia. Though the principal mission of the anthology is to provide a venue for publication of new writers, it also provides a collection of literature and scholarship that contributes to an understanding and appreciation for the region. Poetry, fiction, memoir, heritage writers, as well as new voices appear in each annual volume of the anthology.
The Appalachian Studies Program at Shepherd University connects all of these programs and creates a bridge to the community to learn about, explore, and celebrate the region known as Appalachia. |
The Appalachian Heritage Writer’s Award and Appalachian Heritage Writer-in-Residence Project were developed by the Shepherd University, the Shepherd University Foundation, and the West Virginia Humanities Council in 1998 to celebrate and honor the work of a distinguished contemporary Appalachian writer. The literary residency was designed to function in concert with the Appalachian Heritage Festival, an annual celebration of Appalachian artistic and cultural traditions.
To encourage aspiring West Virginia writers and to promote the kind of networking that fosters literary achievement, Shepherd University and the West Virginia Center for the Book developed, in fall 2001, the West Virginia Fiction Competition. Fiction submissions from across the state of West Virginia are judged by a panel of teachers and writers, with final selection of the winning works of fiction made by the Appalachian Heritage Writer-in-Residence. The first-prize winner of the fiction competition will receive a cash prize of $500. |
2024 Appalachian Heritage Writer in Residence: MARC HARSHMAN
Marc Harshman is a nationally acclaimed children’s book author, storyteller, and current Poet Laureate for the state of West Virginia. He holds degrees from Bethany College, Yale Divinity School, and the University of Pittsburgh. His collection of poems, Woman in Red Anorak (2018), won the Blue Lynx Prize and was published by Lynx House/University of Washington Press, while his collection, Believe What You Can (WVU Press 2016) won the prestigious Weatherford Award and was named Appalachian Book of the Year by the Tennessee Mountain Heritage Literary Festival. Harshman’s latest poetry collection is Following the Silence (Press 53 2023). Harshman is co-winner of the 2019 Allen Ginsberg Poetry Award for his poem “Poet in the Schools," and his poem “Dispatch from the Mountain State” was printed in the Thanksgiving 2020 edition of the New York Times. A prolific children’s author, Marc Harshman co-authored with Anna Smucker Fallingwater: The Building of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Masterpiece (Roaring Brook/Macmillan 2017), which was named an Amazon Book of the Month and is the 2024 WV Childrens’ Common Read. The Storm was a Smithsonian Notable Book, with other Harshman children’s books translated into Danish, Korean, Swedish, Spanish and Japanese. Marc Harshman has made his home in the northern panhandle of West Virginia for the past fifty years, where he lives with wife Cheryl Ryan.
Marc Harshman is a nationally acclaimed children’s book author, storyteller, and current Poet Laureate for the state of West Virginia. He holds degrees from Bethany College, Yale Divinity School, and the University of Pittsburgh. His collection of poems, Woman in Red Anorak (2018), won the Blue Lynx Prize and was published by Lynx House/University of Washington Press, while his collection, Believe What You Can (WVU Press 2016) won the prestigious Weatherford Award and was named Appalachian Book of the Year by the Tennessee Mountain Heritage Literary Festival. Harshman’s latest poetry collection is Following the Silence (Press 53 2023). Harshman is co-winner of the 2019 Allen Ginsberg Poetry Award for his poem “Poet in the Schools," and his poem “Dispatch from the Mountain State” was printed in the Thanksgiving 2020 edition of the New York Times. A prolific children’s author, Marc Harshman co-authored with Anna Smucker Fallingwater: The Building of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Masterpiece (Roaring Brook/Macmillan 2017), which was named an Amazon Book of the Month and is the 2024 WV Childrens’ Common Read. The Storm was a Smithsonian Notable Book, with other Harshman children’s books translated into Danish, Korean, Swedish, Spanish and Japanese. Marc Harshman has made his home in the northern panhandle of West Virginia for the past fifty years, where he lives with wife Cheryl Ryan.
2024 AHWIR SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
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Fri, Sept 20
6:30 p.m. Byrd CHE, Shepherdstown Film Society Screening of 2018 Award-winning Film “Mountain Minor”, the discussion led by Appalachian Scholar and Ethnomusicologist, Professor Rachael Meads, Center for Appalachian Studies and Communities. Join Virtually |
Mon, Sept 23
6:30 p.m. Byrd CHE, “Running with Whiskey: A Journey of Resiliency, through Music, Poetry, and Story,” with Doug Van Gundy and Marc Harshman, sponsored by the Center for Appalachian Studies and Communities; followed by reception and book signings. Join Virtually |
Tues, Sept 24
6:30 p.m. Scarborough Reading Room, “A Celebration of the Anthology of Appalachian Writers, with Poets Randi Ward and Marc Harshman”, sponsored by the WV Center for the Book and Shepherd Foundation, followed by reception and book signings. Join Virtually |
Wed, Sept 25
8:30 a.m. Marc Harshman Reading and Q&A for Berkeley County Students at Martinsburg High School, sponsored by the WV Library Commission. 10 a.m. Marc Harshman Reading and Q&A for Berkeley County Students at Washington High School Reading, sponsored by the WV Library Commission. 11:30 a.m. Marc Harshman Reading and Zoom Conversation with WV Books Clubs, Public Librarians, and Public School Teachers, Byrd 165. Join Virtually 1 p.m. Marc Harshman and the Shepherdstown Library Giving Circle, Lunch and Book Q&A at the Bavarian Inn. 6:30 p.m. Byrd Legislative Center, “The Writing Life, with Marc Harshman”, Byrd CHE (writer discusses his work, the writing process, and journey as an author and an Appalachian), followed by reception and book signing. Join Virtually |
Thurs, Sept 26
12 p.m. Lunch with Senior Moments Book Club 2 p.m. Byrd Legislative Center, “Writers Master Class: ’The Art of Children’s Literature, with Marc Harshman’" Join Virtually 5 p.m. Dinner at The Press Room in Shepherdstown with Fiction Competition Winners 7 p.m. Scarborough Society Lecture/Keynote and Awards Ceremony, “Poetry All Around Us, with Marc Harshman,” (Harshman receives the Appalachian Heritage Writer’s Award, presents WV Fiction Competition awards, and gives Scarborough Lecture, Byrd CHE, followed by reception and book signing). Join Virtually |
Fri, Sept 27
Morning Interview with “WV Public Radio Liz McCormick”. 6:30 p.m. "Stories All Around Us, with Adam Booth, Byrd CHE” Join Virtually |