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Funding for this project is provided by the Library Services and Technology Act administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the West Virginia Library Commission.
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 Winner of the national Gabriel Award for programs that uplift the human spirit. Entertaining visits with fourteen of West Virginia’s most celebrated writers. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) What does the title "In Their Own Country" mean? It could mean West Virginia. It could be the country of the imagination. The words come from the Bible: "A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country." Many writers in this series are better known nationally and internationally than they are in their home state. We want to honor them "in their own country." Why are there so many authors? We want the series to make this point: West Virginia is a storytelling state that has produced an impressive number of first-rate fiction writers and poets. If we had interviewed only two or three writers, people would be impressed by those specific writers. But when you hear one wonderful West Virginia writer after another, it says something about the place too. The fact is: West Virginia has reached - or is fast approaching - critical mass in the literary world. Since 1970, West Virginia has produced more than 90 writers - poets and fiction writers alone - who are nationally distributed and recognized. Add nationally-distributed non-fiction writers, and the list grows to hundreds of names. So the writers in this series are just 14 of dozens of West Virginia writers who could easily fill an hour with good thought and material. For a longer list, see www.mountainlit.com How were the writers selected? A group of West Virginia literature scholars, plus the producer, worked very hard to narrow the list down to 14. The group included Gordon Simmons, Barbara Smith, Irene McKinney, and Kate Long. Over 90 nationally-known fiction writers and poets from West Virginia are in print today. The group thought about the number of books a writer had published, the writing styles, range of content, home counties, and adult/children balance. They decided to limit their selection to fiction and poetry writers and among those chose the most-published. Even with those boundaries, they had to leave out many people who could easily have been included. |
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