Alix Harrow (photo by Elora Overbey)
The Virginia Highlands Festival holds its annual Writers and Readers Days July 25 and 26 at the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center, Abingdon, Virginia.
The literary celebration begins with registration at 8 a.m., July 25. Other Friday speakers are Alix Harrow on the Lure of Fantasy and Alix Harrow and Charles Vess in a reading and illustration demonstration. Ed Davis speaks about writing non-fiction, and Felicia Michell speaks about creating imagery in poetry. Matthew Kelley leads a fiction workshop, and Derek Davidson leads a playwriting workshop. A publishing panel explores how to find the right publication.
An Evening with Sheri Castle, an Emmy-winning food show personality, cookbook writer and storyteller is held Friday night. A Wine, Appetizer and Music reception with Castle is from 6-7 p.m. and her talk begins at 7 p.m. This is a separate event, and tickets are $35 for reception and talk; $20 for talk only.
Saturday speakers include Sheri Castle speaking about culinary writing. Rebekah Wilson speaks about writing for young adults and Ann Ledgerwood talks about writing children’s books. Bonny Gable talks about writing historical fiction. Mary Munsey leads a songwriting workshop, and Denton Loving leads a poetry workshop.
Alix Harrow is a Virginia writer who has emerged as one of the most acclaimed contemporary writers of fantasy, gothic and science fiction. Her first novel, “The Ten Thousand Doors of January,” was nominated for numerous awards including the Hugo Award and a World Fantasy Award for Best Novel. A second novel, “The Once and Future Witches,” won a British Fantasy Award for Best Fantasy Novel. Her most recent novel, “Starling House,” was nominated for the People’s Choice Award at the Virginia Literary Awards from the Library of Virginia.
Charles Vess is a world-renowned fantasy illustrator/ artist. He began his career in New York City by drawing for Marvel’s “Spider-Man” and other comic book publishers. Over the years he has collaborated with many top-notch authors including Ursula K. LeGuin on “The Books of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition”; Neil Gaiman (many times) but particularly on the novel “Stardust” that was made into a major film; plus various works by George R.R. Martin (“A Storm of Swords”), Joanne M. Harris (“Honeycomb”) and Charles de Lint (“The Cats of Tanglewood Forest” and “Seven Wild Sisters”). His artwork has also been exhibited in museums and galleries around the world, and he has won several World Fantasy Awards and Hugo Awards for Best Artist
Edward H. Davis is professor of geography and environmental studies at Emory & Henry University. He earned his Ph.D. in geography at the University of Illinois. He has co-authored several books including “A Virginia Creeper Trail Companion” and several works on rural history and rural change in the South, including “Collards: A Southern Tradition from Seed to Table,” and “Religion, Sustainability, and Place.”
“Trail Magic,” Felicia Mitchell’s recent book of poems, is about her relationship with the natural world she reveres and learns from on hikes in Southwest Virginia (and sometimes beyond). Her poems about the natural world have been published in several anthologies, including “Mountains Piled upon Mountains,” “Appalachian Nature Writing in the Anthropocene” and “Writing the Land: Virginia.”
Matthew B. Kelley is a writer from Atlanta, Georgia. He holds degrees from Morehouse College and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where he was a Truman Capote Fellow in fiction. He has received fellowships from Callaloo Creative Writing Workshop and Kimbilio (fiction). He is an assistant professor in the department of English at Emory & Henry University, Emory, Virginia.
Derek Davidson teaches Playwriting at Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina. His solo pieces, “Ox” and “Furrow,” were part of Piccolo Spoleto and Asheville Fringe; Furrow had its New York City premiere as part of the New York City New Works Festival. His internationally performed play “Blackjack” was published in “Lighting the Way: An Anthology of Short Plays” about the climate crisis. His writing has been published in Grey Sparrow, Jalmurra, Indelible, MER and nominated for the Pushcart Prize in 2023.
Sheri Castle hosts and produces “The Key Ingredient,” an Emmy-winning food show on PBS. She’s also an award-winning professional food writer, recipe developer and cooking teacher known for melding stories, humor and culinary expertise. She’s authored 16 cookbooks, and her writing appears regularly in national publications. The Southern Foodways Alliance presented Castle with their prestigious Keeper of the Flame Award and named her one of 20 Living Legends of Southern Food, calling her The Storyteller.
A Tennessee native, Rebekah Wilson has been writing since she could hold a pencil. The beauty of her home in the Appalachian Mountains, along with the folklore of that area, is what inspires the unique plots and settings captured in her young adult fiction. She is the internationally bestselling author of “The Iron Crown Faerie Tales” and the “Lost Cove Darklings” series.
Ann Ledgerwood is a practicing pediatric physical therapist, musician, radio and podcast host and self-published author of four books for children and families. Bringing her knowledge of Appalachian culture and the insight she has developed over the years, she writes books that are designed to be read together so that families can discuss acceptance, friendship, fear, failure, bullying, foster care, adoption, special needs and more from the perspective of a child.
Bonny Gable is the author of “The Martha Odyssey,” a historical novel set at Martha Washington College in early 20th century Abingdon, Virginia, and the play “Lysistrata Wears Prada,” a modern adaptation of Aristophanes’ ancient Greek comedy. Her career as a theater professor and director, first at King College and later at Virginia Intermont College, fueled her love of storytelling. She shares stories as a fiction author, arts journalist, playwright and a member of Dramatists Guild of America. She is a native of the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia.
Mary Munsey taught elementary, middle and high school choral for 18 years and recently retired as the director of the music department at Virginia Highlands Community College. She’s had a wide and varied career in music performance —from teaching to playing multiple instruments to singing. Her songwriting has been featured for many years nationally and locally, including performances at Nashville’s Bluebird Café, the Grand Ole Opry, Ralph Stanley’s Festival and many more. Her awards include winner of the Woody Guthrie International Folk Songwriting Contest, the Neuse River Songwriting Contest and the Smoky Mountain Songwriting Competition.
Denton Loving is the author of the poetry collections “Crimes Against Birds” and “Tamp” and the recipient of the Tennessee Book Award in Poetry. He is a cofounder and editor at EastOver Press and its literary journal “Cutleaf.” His fiction, poetry, essays and reviews have appeared in numerous publications including The Kenyon Review, Iron Horse Literary Review and Ecotone. His third collection of poems, “Feller,” is forthcoming in 2026 from Mercer University Press.
Tickets for both days are $70. A ticket for one day is $40. Students are admitted free. To register, visit www.vahighlandsfestival.com.
