48th Annual John Fox, Jr. Literary Festival

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Big Stone Gap, VA — The MECC Foundation is pleased to announce the 48th annual John Fox, Jr. Literary Festival. The event will feature authors Adriana Trigiani and Barbara Kingsolver, Wednesday, April 17 from 10 a.m. to noon. The festival is free and open to the public.

In coordination with the festival event, the MECC Foundation will host the 37th Annual Lonesome Pine Short Story Contest and the 20th Annual Lonesome Pine Poetry Contest. The deadline for submitting entries is Tuesday, April 2 at 4:30 p.m. Entry categories include adult, high school (grades 9 through 12), and middle school (grades 5 through 8) categories.  Winners of the contest will be announced during the Literary Festival Event. All winners will receive a cash prize.

The MECC Foundation will welcome students from the Origin Project, Trigiani’s in-school Virginia writing program, to participate in the festival. The Origin Project will unveil its 10th Anniversary Cookbook in memory of the project’s co-founder Nancy Bolmeier Fisher. The cookbook features recipes from the Origin Project’s participating students, teachers, guest authors and friends. Cookbooks will be available to purchase at the festival. All proceeds will benefit the Origin Project.

The 48th Annual John Fox, Jr. festival will have a featured discussion from both Trigiani and Kingsolver. Following the presentation, the MECC Foundation will feature a special luncheon with House at the John Fox Jr. home in Big Stone Gap beginning at 12:30 p.m. Tickets for the luncheon are $30 and can be ordered by calling the MECC Foundation office at 276-523-7466. Tickets are limited, so please reserve early for this event.

Adriana Trigiani is The New York Times bestselling author of 20 books in fiction and nonfiction, including The Shoemaker’s Wife, The Good Left Undone, Don’t Sing at the Table, and Lucia, Lucia, and she is published in 38 languages around the world. She is host of the hit podcast, You Are What You Read, in conversation with the luminaries of our time about the books that built their souls. Adriana is an award-winning playwright, television writer/producer and filmmaker. She wrote and directed the major motion picture adaptation of her debut novel Big Stone Gap, adapted her novel Very Valentine for television and directed Then Came You. She wrote and directed the documentary film, Queens of the Big Time, winner of the Audience Award at the Hamptons International Film Festival and Audience award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival. The film was also featured at the London and Hong Kong International Film festivals. Trigiani grew up in the Big Stone Gap Virginia where she co-founded The Origin Project, an in-school writing program serving over 2,700 students in Appalachia. In 2023, she was knighted with the Cavaliere dell’Ordine della Stella d’Italia by President Sergio Mattarella of Italy. She is proud to serve on the New York State Council on the Arts and lives in New York City with her family.

Barbara Kingsolver is a novelist, essayist, and poet. She is the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Demon Copperhead, a contemporary re-telling of David Copperfield set in Appalachia at the onset of the opioid epidemic. In addition to Demon Copperhead, her bestselling works include The Lacuna, The Poisonwood Bible, The Bean Trees, and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. She was awarded the National Humanities Medal, the highest honor given by the U.S. government for service through the arts, as well as the Dayton Literary Peace Prize for the body of her work. Her books have been translated into more than thirty languages, and have been adopted into the core literature curriculum in high schools and colleges throughout the nation. She lives with her family on a farm in southern Appalachia.

For more information on the MECC Foundation, please visit our website at www.meccfoundation.org.

 37th Annual Lonesome Pine Short Story Contest

Sponsored by Lonesome Pine Arts and Crafts, Inc.

 

CONTEST RULES

 

  • Stories will be accepted in three categories:

Contest Prizes
  Adult High School

(Grades 9-12)

 Middle School

(Grades 5-8)
First Place $200 $70 $50
Second Place $100 $50 $30
Third Place $50 $30 $20

 

 

 
 

  • Only one (1) short story submission per author is allowed. (Authors may submit one entry in the short story contest AND one entry in the poetry contest.  If you wish to enter both contests, your entries may be submitted together in one envelope, but they must be clearly marked.)
  • Maximum length: 1,700 words.  Submissions must be typed and bound with paper clips (NO STAPLES!).  Entries must be submitted on 8½ x 11  Entries should be written in an easily legible typeface (such as Times New Roman, Arial, etc.).  Please avoid elaborate or cursive typefaces.  Font size should be at least 12 point and no larger than 14 point.
  • Deadline for submission: 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 2, 2024, 2023.  Submissions must be postmarked or delivered to the MECC Switchboard in Godwin Hall by the deadline.  Late submissions will not be considered.
  • Winners will be invited to accept their awards at the John Fox, Jr. Festival on Wednesday, April 17, 2024, at 10 a.m. at a link to be announced.
  • A typed cover page must accompany the story. It should include:
    • Name (Your name should appear ONLY on the cover page and NOT on the story)
    • Complete Address
    • Daytime telephone number
    • Alternate telephone number (if available)
    • Title of the story (Should appear on cover page AND the first page of the story)
    • Number of words in the story
    • Contest Category (adult, high school, or middle school)
    • Name of school (if submitted in the high school or middle school category)
  • DO NOT include any supplemental information with your entry (i.e. biographical data on the author, background information on the story, etc.). These items will NOT be read or considered by contest judges.
  • DO NOT include your name anywhere on the entry, except for the cover page. Judging is anonymous, and all identifying information will be removed from the story prior to judging.
  • Entries placing in the contest (first, second, third, or honorable mention) will be published on the Mountain Empire Community College website and in a booklet to be distributed to attendees at the John Fox, Jr. Festival. By entering the contest, an author consents to these methods of publication.
  • Mail entries to:          

       

       Lonesome Pine Poetry Contest

                        Attn: Megan Gibson

                        Mountain Empire Community College Foundation

                        3441 Mountain Empire Road

                        Big Stone Gap, Virginia 24219

Contact: Megan Gibson at (276) 523-9078; e-mail: mgibson@2szx.net

20th Annual Lonesome Pine Poetry Contest

Sponsored by MECC Foundation Cultural & Humanities Committee

 

CONTEST RULES

 

  • Poetry will be accepted in three categories:
Contest Prizes
  Adult High School

(Grades 9-12)

 Middle School

(Grades 5-8)
First Place $200 $70 $50
Second Place $100 $50 $30
Third Place $50 $30 $20




  • Only one (1) submission per poet is allowed. (Authors may submit one entry in the short story contest AND one entry in the poetry contest.  If you wish to enter both contests, your entries may be submitted together in one envelope, but they must be clearly marked.)
  • Submissions must be typed and bound with paper clips (NO STAPLES!). Entries must be submitted on 8½ x 11  Entries should be written in an easily legible typeface (such as Times New Roman, Arial, etc.).  Please avoid elaborate or cursive typefaces.  Font size should be at least 12 point and no larger than 14 point.
  • Deadline for submission: 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 2nd, 2024.  Submissions must be postmarked or delivered to the MECC Switchboard in Godwin Hall by the deadline.  Late submissions will not be considered.
  • Winners will be invited to accept their awards at the John Fox, Jr. Festival on Wednesday, April17, 2024 at 10 a.m. at a link to be announced.
  • A typed cover page must accompany your poem. It should include:
    • Name (Your name should appear ONLY on the cover page and NOT on the poem)
    • Complete Address
    • Daytime telephone number
    • Alternate telephone number (if available)
    • Title of the poem (Should appear on the cover page AND the first page of the poem)
    • Contest Category (adult, high school, or middle school)
    • Name of school (if submitted in the high school or middle school category)
  • DO NOT include any supplemental information with your entry (i.e. biographical data on the author, background information on the poem, etc.). These items will NOT be read or considered by contest judges.
  • DO NOT include your name anywhere on the entry, except for the cover page. Judging is anonymous, and all identifying information will be removed from the poem prior to judging.
  • Entries placing in the contest (first, second, third, or honorable mention) will be published on the Mountain Empire Community College website and in a booklet to be distributed to attendees at the John Fox, Jr. Festival. By entering the contest, an author consents to these methods of publication.
  • Mail entries to:      

Lonesome Pine Poetry Contest

                        Attn: Megan Gibson

                        Mountain Empire Community College Foundation

                        3441 Mountain Empire Road

                        Big Stone Gap, Virginia 24219

Contact:  Megan Gibson at (276) 523-9078; e-mail: mgibson@2szx.net

 

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