The Office of the Provost, in partnership with WVU Libraries and WVU Press, will host the 9th annual Long-Form Celebration of creative and scholarly work produced by University faculty and staff, while also highlighting the 25th anniversary of the West Virginia University Press.
The WVU community is invited to celebrate the achievements of faculty colleagues and the WVU Press from 4-6 p.m. Tuesday (Oct. 22) in the Downtown Library, Milano Reading Room. Doors will open at 4 p.m. and remarks will begin at 4:30 p.m.
The celebration recognizes the University’s productive and creative faculty who have published a book, released a CD or produced a full-length work in another medium during the previous calendar year. A virtual showcase is also available on the Provost’s Office website.
This year’s event also celebrates 25 years of the WVU Press. In November 1999, the then-newly appointed director Patrick Conner established a peer review process and joined the Association of University Presses, solidifying the previously dormant WVU Press status as a scholarly publisher.
In addition to a display of recent highlighted work, three WVU Press authors will be at the event to read selections of their own works published in the last year.
Josh Howard, author “Hell's Not Far Off: Bruce Crawford and the Appalachian Left,” will read from his 2023 title about a politically engaged newspaperman active in central Appalachia from the 1920s through the 1960s. Howard is a public historian from Virginia who currently serves as assistant historian within the U.S. Senate Historical Office.
Jake Maynard, creative writing alumnus and author of “Slime Line,” will read from his debut novel about the commercial fishing industry.
Matthew Ferrence, author of “I Hate it Here, Please Vote for Me,” will read from his timely counter narrative to stories about a monolithic conservative rural America.
The WVU Press will also have the authors’ books for sale at the event.