Mid-Ohio Valley authors in ‘Anthology of Appalachian Writers’
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PARKERSBURG -- Four local writers are included in the Shepherd University 2022 edition of the "Anthology of Appalachian Writers," Marie Manilla Volume 14.
The anthology, available in bookstores, includes the poetry and photography of Randi Ward, short stories by Lois Spencer and West Virginia University at Parkersburg history student Kandi Ellison and poetry by teacher Karen Whittington Nelson.
Ellison is a history major at WVU-P who lives in Belpre. A writer and a student, Ellison is a fan of historical writing, literary and fantasy fiction.
Spencer, a late-comer to the teaching profession and a resident of Belpre, found her niche with junior high students. She fast tracked one master's and then a second, focused entirely on writing. She expanded her teaching to include junior college. Her work has appeared in "Ohio Teachers Write," "Iris: A Journal About Women," the Women of Appalachia Project and "The Poorhouse Rag," among others.
Nelson lives in rural Southeast Ohio and attended Ohio University and had careers in both nursing and teaching. Her poetry and prose appear in the "Women Speak Anthologies," "Gyroscope Review" and "Pudding Magazine."
Ward is a poet, translator, lyricist, and photographer from Belleville. She earned her master's of arts in cultural studies from the University of the Faroe Islands and has twice won the American-Scandinavian Foundation's Nadia Christensen Prize. Ward is a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee whose work has appeared in "Vencil: Anthology of Contemporary Faroese Literature," the "Beloit Poetry Journal," "World Literature Today' and other publications. Her work has also been featured on Folk Radio UK, NPR and "PBS NewsHour." Cornell University Library established the Randi Ward Collection in its Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections in 2015.
The anthology focuses on the work of West Virginia authors including Charles Frazier, Nikki Giovanni, Frank X Walker, Dorothy Allison and Ron Rash, who are winners of the Appalachian Heritage Writer's Award funded by the West Virginia Humanities Council.
It also centers around the work of Marie Manilla, the 2021 Appalachian Heritage Writer in Residence and One Book One West Virginia. The anthology is published by the West Virginia Center for the Book, which distributes the anthology to schools and libraries across the state.
The anthology is funded by the Shepherd University Foundation and the Humanities Council. The University Center for Appalachian Studies and Communities created the anthology series in 2009 and manages its production each year.
Editors include poet Ellen Wade, Appalachian scholar and educator, David O. Hoffman and author and editor Sylvia Bailey Shurbutt.
The unveiling of the book will be 7 p.m. Sept. 27 at the Appalachian Heritage Writer-in-Residence Anthology celebration, at which time winners of the Photography Competition will be announced and West Virginia Poet Laureate Marc Harshman, Manilla and Wade will present stories and poems from the book.
A special reading of local prize-winning writers from the volume will be held 5 p.m. Sept. 24 at Four Seasons Books on German Street in Shepherdstown.
The anthology can be purchased at Four Seasons Book Store, the Shepherd University Book Store and at bookstores across the state and country. For more information about the anthology reading, call Four Seasons at 304 875-3486 or email 4seasons.114@gmail.com. For information about the Appalachian Heritage Festival, go to https://www.shepherd.edu/ahwirweb/kingsolver/schedule.