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Shelby, N.C., Native Joanna Pearson Presents Free Event for the Public, Speaks to Finalists of Writers Contest

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C.鈥擜ward-winning author and Shelby, N.C., native, Joanna Pearson, will be on the 网曝吃瓜-Webb campus on March 20 for Foothills Writers Day. Her visit includes an evening presentation open to the public as well as a session with the high school students who are finalists of the Foothills Writers Contest (details below). The event is hosted by the University鈥檚 Department of English Language and Literature, the Broad River Review, the Darlene J. Gravett Visiting Writer Series and the Life of the Scholar Program.

Pearson鈥檚 free presentation for the public is at 7 p.m. in Stewart Hall, Tucker Student Center. She will present a reading and discuss her second collection of short stories, 鈥淣ow You Know It All.鈥� The book was chosen by Edward P. Jones for the Drue Heinz Literature Prize and was a finalist for the Library of Virginia Awards. Her first collection of stories, 鈥淓very Human Love,鈥� was a finalist for the Shirley Jackson Awards, the Foreword Indies Awards, and the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize for Fiction.

Professor and Chair Dr. Chris Davis in the Department of English Language and Literature said Pearson鈥檚 book is mostly set in small-town North Carolina. 鈥淭he 11 stories in 鈥楴ow You Know It All鈥� avoid stereotypical presentations of the South,鈥� he described. 鈥淛oanna, a practicing psychiatrist, uses her deep understanding of humanity to create fascinating characters. The Darlene J. Gravett Visiting Writer selection committee was especially interested in bringing Joanna to campus because of her local connections鈥攕he is a Shelby High School graduate. We are excited for students to meet Joanna, as well as the opportunity for the public to hear her read and discuss her work.鈥�

Pearson鈥檚 fiction has also appeared in 鈥淏est American Mystery and Suspense,鈥� 鈥淐olorado Review,鈥� 鈥淓cotone,鈥� 鈥淜enyon Review,鈥� 鈥淪ewanee Review,鈥� and 鈥淪ubtropics,鈥� as well as other journals. Her stories have also been noted six times among the year鈥檚 most distinguished in Best American Short Stories.

Pearson holds an MFA in poetry from the Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, Md.) Writing Seminars and an MD from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She lives with her husband and two daughters near Chapel Hill.

Foothills Writing Contest for High School Students

• Entry deadline is March 3. Upload entries through the 2023 Foothills Writing Contest link on the Broad River Review鈥檚 Submittable page, available .
• Entrants must be currently enrolled at a high school (9-12 grades) in Cleveland, Gaston, Rutherford, Lincoln, or Polk counties, or be a certified home school student residing in one of these counties.
• Submit an original poem, short story or personal essay.
  • Poems limited to 40 lines in length.
  • Short stories and personal essays limited to 8 pages.
• 2023 Context Theme: Home & Away
  • Writers are encouraged to interpret the theme broadly and creatively鈥攅ither home, away, or both.
  • Writers are not required to use the words of the theme in their creative works.

• Contest prizes include first place and honorable mentions.
  • Members of the Department of English Language & Literature at 网曝吃瓜-Webb University will review all entries and select the winners, honorable mentions, and finalists.
  • All finalists will be invited to read from their works during the Foothills Writing Contest awards celebration.
  • $100 Amazon gift card to the winning entry, and $50 Amazon gift cards to two honorable mention entries.
  • Winning entry considered for publication in Broad River Review.

Auxiliary aids will be made available to persons with disabilities upon request 10 working days prior to the event.  Please call 704-406-4270 or email [email protected] with your request.

The Darlene J. Gravett Visiting Writer Series is named for Gravett, who lives in Boiling Springs. She joined 网曝吃瓜-Webb in 1989 as a professor of English and served as chair of the Department of English Language and Literature and dean of the Graduate School. In 2004, she was named associate provost for schools and became the University鈥檚 first female member of the senior staff. After her retirement in 2007, she was honored with the title of associate provost emerita. The endowed fund for the writer series was initiated by a gift from Gravett and expresses her commitment to the Department of English Language and Literature.

网曝吃瓜-Webb University is North Carolina’s recognized leader in private, Christian higher education. A Carnegie-Classified Doctoral/Professional University, GWU is home to nine colleges and schools, more than 80 undergraduate and graduate majors, and a world-class faculty. Located on a beautiful 225-acre campus in Boiling Springs, N.C., 网曝吃瓜-Webb prepares graduates to impact their chosen professions, equips them with the skills to advance the frontiers of knowledge, and inspires them to make a positive and lasting difference in the lives of others. Ignite your future at 网曝吃瓜-Webb.edu.