MECC Hosts Annual John Fox, Jr. Festival on March 21

The Mountain Empire Community College Foundation is pleased to announce the 30th Annual John Fox, Jr. Literary Festival, to be held on March 21 from 10 a.m. to 12 noon in the Goodloe Center of Phillips-Taylor Hall on the campus of MECC in Big Stone Gap.  The event will feature readings by authors Pamela Duncan and Sharon Hatfield, as well as the announcement of the winners of the John Fox, Jr. poetry and short story contests in the middle school, high school, and adult categories.

Duncan is the critically-acclaimed author of Plant Life (2003) and Moon Women (2001).   Plant Life was the winner of the 2003 Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction.   Duncan was born in Asheville, and holds a B.A. in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an M. A. in English/creative writing from North Carolina State University in Raleigh.  She lives in Graham, North Carolina.

Hatfield will be reading from her second book, Never Seen the Moon: The Trials of Edith Maxwell, which was published in 2005. The book retells a 1935 true-crime story that occurred in Pound, and captured local and national attention.  Hatfield is a Lee County native and a former reporter who covered the justice system for the Coalfield Progress in Wise.  She currently teaches writing at Hocking College in Ohio.

The 19th Annual Lonesome Pine Short Story Contest, sponsored by Lonesome Pine Arts and Crafts, Inc., and the 2nd Annual Lonesome Pine Poetry Contest, sponsored by Appalachian Cultural Arts, will be held in conjunction with the festival.  The community is cordially invited to attend this event.  For contest rules or more information, call Sherry Tabor at (276) 523-7466 or email stabor@me.vccs.edu.