Playwright D.W. Gregory will read from her prize-winning short story, “Mr. Kindness”  at 5 p.m. on Sept. 24 at Four Seasons Books in Shepherdstown, W.V.

D.W. Gregory won first prize in the 2021 West Virginia Fiction Competition sponsored by Shepherd University and the West Virginia Center for the Book.

D.W. Gregory is the author of more than a dozen full-length plays and is best known for Radium Girls, about the famous case of industrial poisoning. It is among the ten most-produced plays in U.S. high schools and has had more than 1,500 productions in the U.S. and abroad.

“Mr. Kindness” is her first piece of published fiction. The short story appears in the Anthology of Appalachian Writers Vol. XIV, edited by novelist Marie Manilla. Author of The Patron Saint of Ugly, Manilla was the 2021 Appalachian Heritage Writer-in-Residence at Shepherd University. She chose the first, second, and third place winners for the anthology.

The reading at Four Seasons Books also features Noche Gauthier, Pat Donohoe, and Sue Silver, who are published in the anthology. Gauthier is the winner of the 2021 Judge’s Choice Award for student writing.

The event is free and open to the public.

West Virginia Fiction Competition

The West Virginia Fiction Competition encourages writers and storytellers whose talent and ability in creative writing is distinctive and promising, and seeks to foster an appreciation of Appalachian culture and values represented in the diverse writing of the region.

The principal mission of the anthology is to provide a venue for publication of new writers. It also provides a collection of literature and scholarship that contributes to an understanding and appreciation for the region. Poetry, fiction, memoir, heritage writers, as well as new voices appear in each annual volume of the anthology.

The Appalachian Studies Program at Shepherd University connects all of these programs and creates a bridge to the community to learn about, explore, and celebrate the region known as Appalachia.

Barbara Kingsolver is 2022 Writer in Residence

This year’s Appalachian Heritage Writer in Residence is Barbara Kingsolver, who is in residence during the week of Sept. 25 – 30 and will make a series of appearances, including conducting a master class and speaking at a  reception honoring the writers published in the 2021 anthology. She will present the awards for the 2022 winners the evening of  Sept. 29.

The full schedule for the Appalachian Heritage Writer in Residence Program can be found at https://www.shepherd.edu/ahwirweb/kingsolver/schedule.

Copies of the Anthology Vol. XIV can be purchased at Four Seasons Books at 116 W. German St.
Shepherdstown, or ordered through the bookstore by calling (304) 876-3486 or emailing at
​4seasons.114@gmail.com.