News & Events
1455’s Teen Poetry Contest Winners Announced
We are pleased to announce the winners of the 1455 Teen Poetry Contest. First, some numbers. We were delighted to receive almost 70 submissions (and almost 140 poems!) from around the country. The overall quality of the writing exceeded all expectations. On one hand,...
1455 in The Winchester Star
Big gratitude to Robyn Taylor of the Winchester Star for providing the first official media story regarding 1455's name change and upcoming literary festival! You can check out the piece online here, and it's pasted, below. A few things: you can find out all about the...
1455’s Teen Poetry Contest, Sponsored by Friends of Handley Regional Library
A prize of $500 will be given to the winner of 1455's First Teen Poetry Contest. 1455's first Summer Literary Festival (July 18-20) will include a special Teen Poetry Reading, featuring Maia Siegel, who is co-judging the contest (along with writers on the 1455...
Author Series with Cindy Ross
The 1455 Author Series at Handley Regional Library continues with Cindy Ross, who will read from her latest book The World is Our Classroom. Cindy had her formal education in Fine Arts Painting, attending the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in...
Author Series with Cliff Garstang
The 1455 Author Series at Handley Regional Library continues with Cliff Garstang, who will read from his latest book The Shaman of Turtle Valley. Cliff is a fiction writer and former international lawyer. His novel in stories, What the Zhang Boys Know, won...
VCLA’s Rebrand: Let’s Party Like it’s 1455
New name. Same organization. Only more so. The Virginia Center for Literary Arts (VCLA) is now 1455. Who? Why? What? How? Where? Let me tell you a story. I'm a lifelong and very proud native son of The Old Dominion, and as such the original name Virginia Center for...
Author Series First Open Mic Night
The Virginia Center for Literary Arts Author Series at Handley Regional Library continues with a special Open Mic at the Winchester Book Gallery. Local writer Jessi Lewis will read from her novel-in-progress. Her essays, short stories and poems have been...
VCLA AUTHOR SERIES AT HANDLEY LIBRARY, VOL. 6: ED AYMAR & ANGIE KIM
All of the readings thus far in VCLA's Author Series have been special, but it's possible this was the most organic --and symbolic-- one yet. I was first introduced to novelist Ed Aymar via a mutual friend (who in turn was introduced to me by a friend...) and Ed,...
VCLA at Virginia Festival of the Book
Having spent more than a decade of my professional career attending the annual CES in Las Vegas, I know a thing or two about large conferences (and CES, one of the world's biggest, definitely includes the good, bad, and especially ugly that come with any big...
Around the (Publishing) World in 480 Minutes
10-10:55 am Opening statement & Why We Write workshop- Sean Murphy Most writers come to understand, usually early on, that this craft is not a shortcut to fame and fortune. In fact, in an increasingly digital market, even non-fiction writers may find...
VCLA Author Series at Handley Library, Vol. 5: Tim Denevi
It was fantastic to collaborate again with the great folks from my alma mater, George Mason University. My friend Matt Davis, who directs the Alan Cheuse International Writers Center (and who was with us for Ahmed Naji's reading in January), returned to Handley...
VCLA PRESENTS: THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Question: What is the state of the publishing industry circa 2019? Answer: It’s complicated.
Sean Murphy and E. Ethelbert Miller: On The Margin at WPFW 89.3
It was my considerable pleasure to have an extended chat with E. Ethelbert Miller last week on his weekly WPFW show "On the Margin." A bit more about Ethelbert, here. And here's a small, but beautiful taste of his poetic skills. This one, simply and devastatingly...
VCLA’S AUTHOR SERIES AT HANDLEY LIBRARY, VOL. 4: KAREN E. BENDER and ROBERT ANTHONY SIEGEL
In my experience, the only way to improve on a series featuring amazing authors is to feature two amazing authors. How fortunate, for everyone, that the dynamic duo and husband and wife team of Karen E. Bender and Robert Anthony Siegel were kind enough to visit...
Author Series Continues with E.A. Aymar
The Virginia Center for Literary Arts Author Series at Handley Regional Library continues with E.A. Aymar and Angie Kim, who will read from their new books in a special performance accompanied by musicians. E.A. Aymar will read from The Unrepentant, and...
Author Series Continues with Tim Denevi
The Virginia Center for Literary Arts Author Series at Handley Regional Library continues with Tim Denevi, who will read from his latest book Freak Kingdom: Hunter S. Thompson's Manic Ten-Year Crusade Against American Fascism. Tim received his MFA in...
VCLA Presents: THE MUSIC INDUSTRY IN THE 21ST CENTURY
I’ve followed the developments of this changing landscape –what I refer to as the democratization of content– with keen professional as well as personal interest (in addition to indulging lifelong addictions to both music and literature, I also spent a decade...
THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Sean Murphy, Founding Director of the Virginia Center for Literary Arts (VCLA) will moderate a panel, “The Publishing Industry in the 21st Century.” A columnist for PopMatters, Murphy has been writing book, movie, and music reviews for almost two decades....
VCLA’s Author Series at Handley Library, Vol. 3: Ahmed Naji
VCLA's stated mission is at once focused yet broad: we intend to open a world-class residency that welcomes writers (of all disciplines and genres) year-round, featuring workshops, seminars, and residencies, allowing authors time and space to work. But VCLA will be...
Building Your Authorial Presence with Bethanne Patrick
Building Your Authorial Presence, Online and IRL You are writing, have written, or perhaps even published your first book. Congratulations! Now, how do you get the word out? How do you keep your book in the limelight past its release date? How do you...