Sarah Lawson

Framed by one woman’s story of self-discovery amidst geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Italy in the 1970s, The Half Life is the latest historical fiction novel by Richmond-based author Rachel Beanland. Beanland is also the author of The House Is on Fire and Florence Adler Swims Forever, which won the National Jewish Book Award […]

In the opening pages of Alan Opts Out by Courtney Maum, readers meet the titular character as he prepares for a big pitch—perhaps his biggest yet—to try to land a multimillion-dollar advertising contract with the U.S. Dairy Council. Alan is a successful man, but he and his family recently moved to a private seaside community […]

As an artist and botanical illustrator, Lara Call Gastinger’s work reflects our local environment, detailing native plants near her Charlottesville home and in the nearby mountains. She was the chief illustrator for the Flora of Virginia Project, a botanical reference book and app cataloging the rich biodiversity of our Commonwealth, and she is also widely […]

Sophia Terazawa is a Vietnamese-Japanese poet, novelist, and performance artist whose work explores diasporic identities and experiences of exile as well as polyvocal and experimental forms of writing. She is the author of four books, including Oracular Maladies, her new poetry collection, and Tetra Nova, her debut novel. Terazawa teaches in Virginia Tech’s MFA creative […]

Recently re-released in a 10th anniversary edition, Little Star is the memoir of Carmelita Estrellita, a trans poet, artist, and educator who lived in Charlottesville until her death in 2016. Edited by Lauren Catlett, the book combines Estrellita’s writing, stories, and drawings to share reflections on her life and to offer comfort, affirmation, and inspiration […]

“Perhaps you are sick and fear you will never be well, the brochure said, more or less. Perhaps you spend your days off on the couch, half napping, half awake. Perhaps your thighs, stomach, feet, and arms have become not so much you but accessories to you, things to hold and prod. If any of […]