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Black History Month

Heng wins 2023 New American Voices Award

Colleen Rich — Mon, 16 Oct 2023 14:50:37 +0000

Heng wins 2023 New American Voices Award Colleen Rich Mon, 10/16/2023 - 10:50

Author Rachel Heng has won the sixth annual New American Voices Award for her novel The Great Reclamation. She accepted the award at a ceremony at ��AV’s Center for the Arts during 25th annual Fall for the Book festival.

The New American Voices Award was created in 2018 by Fall for the Book and Mason’s Institute for Immigration Research (IIR) to recognize recently published works that illuminate the complexity of the human experience as told by immigrants, whose work is historically underrepresented in writing and publishing.

“When I first started writing this book, I wondered if anyone in America would want to read a book like this,” said Heng, who was born and raised in Singapore and is currently an assistant professor of English at Wesleyan University, “[but] the longer that I’ve been here, I’ve come to see a lot of similarities [between Singapore and the U.S.]. Both are countries of immigrants, [and] it means the world to me, truly, to have this novel recognized for those commonalities.”

The two other award finalists—Angie Kim, author of Happiness Falls, and DK Nnuro, author of What Napoleon Could Not Do—also read from and discussed their work at the event.

The previous winners of the New American Voices Award are Hernan Diaz’s In the Distance, Melissa Rivero’s The Affairs of the Falcóns, Lysley Tenorio’s The Son of Good Fortune, Patricia Engel’s Infinite Country, and Sindya Bhanoo’s Seeking Fortune Elsewhere.

The IIR is at the forefront of immigration research, producing high-quality research and timely analysis that examines the economic contributions of immigrants in the United States.

Fall for the Book is Northern Virginia’s oldest and largest festival of literature and the arts. All events are free and open to the public thanks to the generous support of sponsors including Mason, the Fairfax County Public Library, the Fairfax Library Foundation, and the City of Fairfax.

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Fall for the Book hosts first-ever February Mini Fest

Colleen Rich — Wed, 08 Feb 2023 19:40:53 +0000

Fall for the Book hosts first-ever February Mini Fest Colleen Rich Wed, 02/08/2023 - 14:40

The Fall for the Book festival is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2023 with year full of programming. On February 15, the festival is hosting the first annual Mini Fest, which will bring together four authors from around the globe.

The Mini Fest, featuring writers Crystal S. Anderson, Ava Homa, Bisi Adjapon, and Rashmi Sadana, will run from 10:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. in Fenwick Library, Room 2001, on ��AV’s Fairfax Campus. The events are free and open to the public, but reserving free tickets is encouraged.

At 10:30 a.m., Anderson, who teaches in Mason’s African and African American Studies Program, will give her talk: “K-pop’s Got Soul” about her book Soul in Seoul: African American Popular Music and K-pop, which argues that Korean Pop is part of the global R&B movement.

At 12 p.m., Homa will discuss her novel Daughters of Smoke and Fire, which explores identity, family, and oppression in the everyday lives of Kurdish people. Homa herself was born in the Kurdistan province of Iran.

At 1:30 p.m., the Cheuse Center for International Writers presents Adjapon, their Ghanaian writer-in-residence, who will discuss Daughter in Exile—her novel about family, immigration, and adversity—with Mason creative writing professor and author Helon Habila. They will be joined by poet and artist Bennie Herron, whose work is currently on display at Mason Exhibitions Arlington.

Finally, at 3 p.m., Sadana, a cultural anthropologist in Mason’s Department of Sociology and Anthropology, will take readers to the heart of Delhi, India, with her book The Moving City: Scenes from the Delhi Metro and the Social Life of Infrastructure.

Fall for the Book’s Mini Fest is the second event in an exciting expansion of festival programming year round. The 25th anniversary celebration continues in March, with the return of fan favorite, Story Sprint.

For the full schedule of events, visit fallforthebook.org.

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Fall for the Book Festival announces headliners for 2022

Colleen Rich — Fri, 19 Aug 2022 16:33:10 +0000

Fall for the Book Festival announces headliners for 2022 Colleen Rich Fri, 08/19/2022 - 12:33

After two years of offering the festival virtually, Fall for the Book is thrilled to be back with both in-person and online events for the 24th year. From October 11-15, the festival will be headlined by bestselling novelist Emily St. John Mandel, graphic novelist Gene Luen Yang, comic book heavy-weight Alan Moore, and champion goalkeeper Briana Scurry.

Other featured authors include actress Sarah Edmondson, novelist Melissa Scholes Young, Planet Money host Mary Childs, meteorologist Matthew Cappucci, short story writer Morgan Talty, memoirist Rhajika Bhandari, and more.

In-person events will be hosted at Mason’s Fairfax Campus and around Fairfax County. A special day of Children’s Events will also take place on Saturday, October 8, in Old Town Hall as part of the City of Fairfax’s Fall Festival.

On Thursday, October 13, the festival will celebrate the fifth annual New American Voices Award, which honors immigrant writing. The three finalists are Aamina Ahmad, author of “The Return of Faraz Ali”; Daphne Palasi Andreades, author of “Brown Girls”; and Sindya Bhanoo, author of “Seeking Fortune Elsewhere.”

Friday, October 14, the City of Fairfax presents two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, Hall of Famer, and legendary Women’s World Cup ’99 team member Briana Scurry, who will talk about her powerful memoir “My Greatest Save: The Brave, Barrier-Breaking Journey of a World Champion GoalKeeper.” She will speak at 7 p.m. at the Stacy C. Sherwood Center in Fairfax.

On Saturday, October 15, Fall for the Book is partnering with the Wisconsin Book Festival to present comic book legend Alan Moore virtually, as he appears on Crowdcast at 11:30 a.m. Watch the event on-demand from home via Crowdcast, or join an on-campus watch party.

Also on Saturday, the George Mason Friends present Gene Luen Yang, author of the graphic novel “Dragon Hoops.” A two-time National Book Award finalist for his graphic novels “Boxers & Saints” and “American Born Chinese,” which is coming to Disney+, Yang has also written for New Super-Man from DC Comics, and the Avatar: The Last Airbender series from Dark Horse Comics. Yang will appear at 5 p.m. at Harris Theater.

Later that evening, the Fairfax Library Foundation presents Emily St. John Mandel, author of international bestsellers “Sea of Tranquility” and “Station Eleven.” Mandel will cap off the festival at 7:30 p.m. in Harris Theater, talking about her new space and time-defying novel.

On-demand and live streamed events will be available on the festival’s website and YouTube channel. All events are free and open to the public, thanks to our sponsors. Free tickets will be available on Eventbrite for headline events one week prior to the festival.

The full schedule is now live and can be found on www.FallfortheBook.org/schedule.

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Debut writers dominate immigrant writing award shortlist

Colleen Rich — Fri, 12 Aug 2022 20:55:50 +0000

Debut writers dominate immigrant writing award shortlist Colleen Rich Fri, 08/12/2022 - 16:55

Sindya Bhanoo’s “Seeking Fortune Elsewhere,” Daphne Palasi Andreades’s “Brown Girls,” and Aamina Ahmad’s “The Return of Faraz Ali” have been named finalists for ��AV’s Institute for Immigration Research New American Voices Award.

Celebrating its fifth anniversary, this award recognizes recently published works that illuminate the complexity of human experience as told by immigrants, whose work is historically underrepresented in writing and publishing. This year’s book prize was judged by authors Patricia Engel, Huan Hsu and Christopher Castellani. Engel won the award in 2021 and joined the ranks of previous winners Hernan Diaz, Melissa Rivero, and Lysley Tenorio.

The winning writer will receive $5,000, and the two finalists each will receive $1,000. The winner will be announced this fall, and all three finalists will join the judges for an award ceremony and reading to discuss their work. The event will be hosted by the Fall for the Book festival on Thursday, October 13, at 7:30 p.m. at Mason’s Fairfax Campus.

Bhanoo is a longtime newspaper reporter and a frequent contributor to The New York Times and The Washington Post. Castellini praised Bhanoo’s short fiction collection saying, “Bhanoo is an immensely talented writer who packs deep emotional punches into stories told economically and with elegant restraint.”

A graduate of Columbia University’s MFA Fiction program, Andreades was awarded a Henfield Prize and is recipient of a 2021 O. Henry Prize. Engel said of her debut novel: “Andreades offers an electric rendering of urban girls becoming women, their loyalties and fissures amid the wild and dislocating terrain of contemporary diaspora.”

A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, Ahmad has received a Stegner Fellowship, a Pushcart Prize, and a Rona Jaffe Writers’ Award. Hsu described her debut novel as “an engrossing, beautifully written saga of identity, loyalty, class, and aspiration, all wrapped in a page-turning crime thriller.”

Fall for the Book, which runs October 12-15, 2022, is Northern Virginia’s oldest and largest festival of literature and the arts. All events are free and open to the public thanks to the generous support of sponsors, including the Mason, Fairfax County Public Library, the Fairfax Library Foundation, and the City of Fairfax. For more information, visit fallforthebook.org

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New American Voices Award

Patricia Engel wins the 2021 New American Voices Award

Colleen Rich — Fri, 01 Oct 2021 12:33:46 +0000

Patricia Engel wins the 2021 New American Voices Award Colleen Rich Fri, 10/01/2021 - 08:33

Patricia Engel’s novel “Infinite Country” is the winner of the 2021 Institute for Immigration Research New American Voices Award, judged by authors Irena Reyn, Justin Torres, and Melissa Rivero.

Engel will receive $5,000 for the top prize and will accept the award at a virtual ceremony hosted by Fall for the Book on Friday, Oct. 15, at 7 p.m. Engel, born to Colombian parents, and herself a dual citizen, is an associate professor of creative writing at the University of Miami.

Fall for the Book and ��AV’s Institute for Immigration Research created the New American Voices Award in 2018 to recognize recently published works that illuminate the complexity of the human experience as told by immigrants, whose work is historically underrepresented in writing and publishing.

After finding out she won, Engel said: “As the daughter of immigrants, my writing is an offering to the community of millions around the world who make our home in diaspora, and who have our citizenry challenged at every turn. To have my work recognized by the Institute for Immigration Research, which prioritizes the complexity of migration, and among such extraordinary finalists, moves me deeply.”

Engel’s novel explores an immigrant family’s struggle of undocumented status and their divided existence between Bogotá and the United States. With the ever-menacing threat of being deported, a split family must weigh their allegiance to the past and to each other.

The judges described “Infinite Country” as “engrossing and daring from the very first sentence. Engel tells the story . . . masterfully over the course of two decades, shifting perspectives, and employing Andean myths to give us insight into her characters. In the process, she demonstrates how neither time nor borders can contain this family's connection or their love.”

Finalists Daisy Hernández and Anthony Veasna So’s estate each will receive $1,000.

The awards ceremony is virtual, and you can register for free here.

Fall for the Book is Northern Virginia’s oldest and largest festival of literature and the arts. All events are free and open to the public thanks to the generous support of sponsors including the Fairfax County Public Library, ��AV, the Fairfax Library Foundation, and the City of Fairfax. For more information and for a full schedule of this year’s events, visit fallforthebook.org.

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Fall for the Book embraces hybrid format for its 2021 festival

Colleen Rich — Thu, 05 Aug 2021 19:18:48 +0000

Fall for the Book embraces hybrid format for its 2021 festival Colleen Rich Thu, 08/05/2021 - 15:18

After a landmark virtual 2020 festival with more than 15,000 viewers, Fall for the Book is pushing the envelope with a new hybrid format for its 23rd festival, which runs from October 14-31.

This year’s virtual headliners include book club sensation Brit Bennett, author of “The Vanishing Half”; Norwegian master of suspense Jo Nesbø; poets extraordinaire Maggie Smith and Victoria Chang; Pulitzer Prize-winning environmental writer Elizabeth Kolbert; Netflix docuseries Inside the World’s Toughest Prisons host Raphael Rowe and a soon-to-be-announced headliner who will appear in person at ��AV. Fall for the Book will also host an in-person preview event on Oct. 7 featuring Mason alumni authors.

Other virtual featured authors are true crime writer Dean Jobb, essayist Elissa Washuta, economics whiz Azeem Azhar, children’s author Tom Angleberger and more.

The 2021 festival will also feature the fourth annual Institute for Immigration Research’s New American Voices award ceremony, featuring the three finalists and judges Irina Reyn, Justin Torres and Melissa Rivero.

“Fall for the Book did more than pivot last year,” said Gregg Wilhelm, vice chair of Fall for the Book’s board and the director of Mason’s Creative Writing Program. “It took flight from the foul line and scored a slam dunk. The virtual formula was too successful not to have online programs as part of the festival moving forward.”

By keeping the festival partly virtual, Fall for the Book can innovate and create dynamic programming not possible for an in-person festival, such as the event titled “Across the World in Five Novels,” featuring writers from India, Chile, Mauritius, Saudi Arabia and England. Festival events will be held on Crowdcast, YouTube, Soundcloud, and in-person on Mason’s Fairfax Campus.

Fall for the Book is Northern Virginia’s oldest and largest festival of literature and the arts. All events are free and open to the public thanks to the generous support of sponsors, including the Mason, the Fairfax County Public Library, the Fairfax Library Foundation and the City of Fairfax. Find the full schedule with details at fallforthebook.org.

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Fall for the Book’s biggest event ever draws more than 5,000 virtual attendees

Colleen Rich — Fri, 14 May 2021 13:01:48 +0000

Fall for the Book’s biggest event ever draws more than 5,000 virtual attendees Colleen Rich Fri, 05/14/2021 - 09:01

Fall for the Book shattered attendance records at their recent virtual event with New York Times bestselling author Kristin Hannah. On April 22 and throughout the following week, more than 5,000 people from around the globe tuned in live and on-demand to watch the hour-long event, sponsored by the Fairfax County Public Library.

Had the event been in-person, the audience for Hannah would have filled more than two full Concert Halls.

“The festival has seen big crowds before, but this event—and the momentum it created online—was extraordinary, with nearly 2,000 people coming from Fairfax County and the DMV area alone,” said Kara Oakleaf, director of Fall for the Book.

Based at ��AV, Fall for the Book is an independent nonprofit literary arts organization that promotes reading by sponsoring a variety of year-round events and activities, the flagship of which is the Fall for the Book festival held each October.

At the April event, “The Four Winds” author sat down with Tayla Burney, creator and curator of the WAMU in Your Bookstore series, to talk about the writing process, the Dust Bowl, and Hannah’s long and successful career.

Comments flooded the chat in Crowdcast and on YouTube. Viewers shared links to famous Dust Bowl photographer Dorothea Lange, which sparked a passionate discussion of her work and how it informed their own reading of Hannah’s novel, enriching the evening’s experience.

This event crowned a full year of virtual programming for the festival, which saw more than 10,000 visitors in the fall attending events featuring best-selling authors like Madeline Miller of “Song of Achilles” fame, Rainbow Rowell, and Tommy Orange.

Mason alumna Julija Pivo stepped up during the transition to online because of the pandemic and learned a swath of new technology to produce each of the festival’s 50 events.

“So many challenges came with moving the festival online, which pushed my understanding of how technology can build community,” said Pivo, who graduated with a BFA in creative writing in 2020. “I would never have imagined how far the reach of an online platform could be. Being able to create virtual events that brought joy to people all over the world has been deeply rewarding.”

Pivo worked closely with Mason alumni and festival staffers Oakleaf, Suzy Rigdon and Kate Lewis, and two groups of Mason undergraduate and graduate students, who supported the events.

Over the last 22 years, Fall for the Book has always sought to bring community and campus together through its programming, and now that community has spread even farther.

But there’s no rest for the bookish. The staff is already hard at work planning another virtual festival for October 2021. To find out more about upcoming events, visit fallforthebook.org.

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Tenorio is this year’s New American Voices Award winner

Colleen Rich — Tue, 06 Oct 2020 09:00:22 +0000

Tenorio is this year’s New American Voices Award winner Colleen Rich Tue, 10/06/2020 - 05:00

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New American Voices Award

Fall for the Book announces New American Voices Award finalists

Colleen Rich — Fri, 21 Aug 2020 09:00:07 +0000

Fall for the Book announces New American Voices Award finalists Colleen Rich Fri, 08/21/2020 - 05:00

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New American Voices Award