Barbara Kingsolver's Blog

The Heart of Appalachia: Barbara Kingsolver writes for Southern Living

Barbara’s story of Appalachian heartbreak and hope after Hurricane Helene is out in the May issue of Southern Living. She writes honestly about climate change, asking the magazine’s millions of readers to contemplate this frightening new kind of weather, and our responsibility to the future. You can read the article here: Heart of Appalachia

Whether or not you read the article, please consider making a donation to Trails to Recovery for their inspiring work on recovery and restoration here in Southwest Virginia.

Prodigal Summer: Science Friday Book Club Pick

Barbara had a great time talking with Diana Plasker and the Science Friday book club about the biological backstories of her novel, Prodigal Summer. They covered a wide range of topics, from keystone predators and what the Volterra equation tells us about pest control, to the challenges of writing from a non-human point of view, and some unconventional uses for a giant hollow log. The conversation was recorded for future listeners: follow this link to tune in. https://www.youtube.com/live/G9wmc-XIU-o…

Fall 2024 Visiting Larmore Poet: Barbara Kingsolver

Pulitzer Prize and two-time Women’s Prize-winning writer and poet Barbara Kingsolver was the featured visiting poet for the 2024 Catherine Burns Larmore Visiting Poet Series at Emory & Henry University on October 16th, 2024.

Watch Barbara’s talk with Professor Matthew Kelley Here!

Read Your Way Through Appalachia

Thanks to the NY Times for this beautifully UNstereotypical Appalachian illustration to go with my article, and for letting me recommend many more great Appalachian books and authors than is usual for this feature. Even so, the hardest part was leaving out so many more. Happy reading!

-Barbara

Demon Copperhead awarded Pulitzer Prize

Demon Copperhead was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction on the evening of Monday, May 8, 2023. Barbara was shocked, but thrilled, and spoke that evening with The Associated Press, saying: ““I wrote this book for my people because we are so invisible to the rest of the world and so persistently misrepresented…. I couldn’t be happier (about the Pulitzer) for this reason.”

The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction was awarded this year to two works of fiction: Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, and Trust by Hernan Diaz.

An Interview with Orion Magazine

“Barbara Kingsolver’s first article in Orion appeared over twenty years ago, and she’s remained a steadfast voice in our catalog since then. We recently sat down with her to reflect on the coming of spring, the practice of wonder, and the work that inspires her.“

Read the full article here

Barbara Speaks with The Origin Project about Demon Copperhead

March 21, 2023, on Emory & Henry campus Barbara had the pleasure of talking with high school students who’ve read DEMON COPPERHEAD, with their inspiring teachers. She was joined by Nancy Bolmeier-Fisher and (virtually) Adriana Trigiani, founders of the Origin Project. During a Q&A with the audience, Barbara received this question, from a comic book club member: “Do superheroes have an obligation to rural people?”

Barbara: “Batman, Spiderman, Captain America et al, out there in your respective Metropolises, are you listening? Yes, you do.”

See photos and read more about the event here: https://www.ehc.edu/live/news/2810-emory-henry-hosts-nationally-renowned-authors

Photo Credit: Leah Prater

Barbara Kingsolver in Conversation with Arwen Donahue on March 30th

Join us for a virtual conversation between the author of Landings Arwen Donahue and NYT bestselling author Barbara Kingsolver on Thursday, March 30th at 7PM!

Landings is a hybrid art memoir, published this past fall. In 130 ink-and-watercolor drawings, the story of one year on a family farm in Kentucky unfolds in captured moments of daily life: Donahue chopping wood, a cow sniffing her head, her daughter tending to goats after a hard day at school. Each visual is paired with a written reflection on the day’s doings, interwoven with the longer-arc history of her family, the farm, and their community. In telling the story of a farm family’s struggle to survive and thrive, Landings grapples with the legacy of our cultural divide between art and land and celebrates the beauty discovered along the way.

“Generational memory seems to have fed a modern assumption that manual labor is for the wretched, and farm life is something to be escaped. For all those of us who have returned to it, or elected not to leave at all, there is so much more to the story. It’s a kind of mission work to explain that land itself holds wisdom, and grace comes from reading it every day. The world needs books like Landings to record ‘the joy, delight, and awe of our creaturely lives on earth.’ To reveal daily labors like these from the inside out, and explain how Efficiency, the god that rules so much of modern life, can be a soul-killing taskmaster. The revelations hold a much-needed redemption of labor itself.” —Barbara Kingsolver, from the introduction

Though Arwen and Barbara will be in conversation virtually, any attendees in Spartanburg are welcome to gather in-person and watch a livestream of the event on a large TV screen at the bookshop. Snacks and beverages will be provided. Books will be available for pick up and additional titles will be available for sale.

The price of admission includes a copy of one of the event books (select at checkout).

For more information and to purchase tickets, follow this link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/virtualhybrid-event-arwen-donahue-in-conversation-w-barbara-kingsolver-tickets-525946749887

Announcing the 2023 Women’s Prize longlist!

Barbara’s latest novel, Demon Copperhead has been longlisted for the 2023 Women’s Prize along with 15 other talented writers. “Now in its twenty-eighth year, the Women’s Prize for Fiction shines a spotlight on outstanding, ambitious, original fiction written in English by women from anywhere in the world.”

The judging panel will now whittle these sixteen books down to a shortlist of six novels, announced on April 26th. The winner of the 2023 Women’s Prize for Fiction will be announced on 14th June.

You can find more information about the Women’s Prize here: https://womensprizeforfiction.co.uk/features/features/news/announcing-the-2023-womens-prize-longlist

Demon Copperhead in The Plough Quarterly Review

“Kingsolver’s novel rings with the authenticity of autobiography. her characters leap from the page as vibrant individuals so real that you might be tempted to Google them.”

Demon-Copperhead-ReviewDownload

Visit Plough Quarterly Review here: https://www.plough.com/en/topics/justice/social-justice/economic-justice/editors-picks-demon-copperhead