2 with Henrico ties to receive honorary degrees at Virginia Literacy Awards ceremony

Nine finalists, chosen by an independent panel of judges from more than 104 submissions, have been selected for the 26th Annual Virginia Literary Awards. Winners in each category will be announced at a gala celebration to be held Oct. 14 at the Library of Virginia.

In addition, the event will include the presentation of honorary Patron of Letters degrees to two authors with local ties. Henrico High School alumnus and best-selling author David Baldacci will be honored along with his wife, Michelle, a passionate literacy advocate.  Award-winning children’s author Meg Medina, a Henrico resident, will also receive the honorary Patron of Letters degree, as will poet and educator Nikki Giovanni.

The 2023 Virginia Literary Awards finalists include, in the fiction category, Bill Glose (All the Ruined Men: Stories), Bruce Holsinger (The Displacements), and Barbara Kingsolver (Demon Copperhead).  Nonfiction finalists are Margaret Edds (What the Eyes Can’t See: Ralph Northam, Black Resolve, and a Racial Reckoning in Virginia), Jonathan M. Katz (Gangsters of Capitalism: Smedley Butler, the Marines, and the Making and Breaking of America’s Empire), and Beth Macy (Raising Lazarus: Hope, Justice, and the Future of America's Overdose Crisis).

Poetry finalists include Laura Bylenok (Living Room), Melanie McCabe (The Night Divers) and Gregory Orr (Selected Books of the Beloved).

For ticket information or event details, visit lvafoundation.org/literaryawards/ or call 692-3813.