Seventh Annual VCU First Novelist Award 2007
Travis Holland for The Archivist’s Story

The Department of English, the MFA Program in Creative Writing, and the VCU Libraries at Virginia Commonwealth University are pleased to announce the selection of The Archivist’s Story by Travis Holland (The Dial Press).

The Archivist’s Story was one of three finalists chosen by our readers. The others were Samedi the Deafness by Jesse Ball (Vintage Contemporaries), and Quinnehtukqut by Joshua Harmon (Starcherone Books). For further information, visit www.firstnovelist.vcu.edu.

The Archivist's Story

The VCU Cabell First Novelist Award honors the best debut novel published during a calendar year. For publishing year 2007, we received more than 80 novels from presses large and small. The selection of the winner was a months-long process that involved over 100 readers from Virginia Commonwealth University and the community of Richmond, Virginia. This group narrowed the books to a list of finalists and semifinalists, which were announced in May, 2008. These books were then read and reviewed by an independent panel of judges. This year's judges were Valley Haggard, Book editor for Style Weekly magazine; Ann McMillan, author of Chickahominy Fever: A Civil War Mystery, among many others; and John Ulmschneider, VCU Librarian.

As winner, Mr. Holland was invited to attend the 2008 VCU Cabell First Novelist Festival at Virginia Commonwealth University. The Festival took place in the fall of 2008 and was designed to highlight the journey of a new writer from idea to publication, with specific focus on those elements that make Mr. Holland’s experience unique. Travel expenses to Richmond and lodging accommodations for the author, agent, and editor was provided, as will a $5000 cash prize for the author.

We would like to express our most sincere thanks to all who entered and thus made this annual contest such a success. Sponsors include the VCU Department of English, James Branch Cabell Library Associates, Friends of the Library, the VCU Libraries, the VCU Honors College, and the VCU College of Humanities and Sciences.

Sixth Annual VCU First Novelist Award 2006
Karen Fisher for A Sudden Country

The Department of English and the MFA Program in Creative Writing at Virginia Commonwealth University are pleased to announce its 6th annual selection: The Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo by Peter Orner (Little, Brown & Co.)

The Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo

Mavala Shikongo was one of four finalists chosen by our readers. The others were The Best People in thw World, Justin Tussing (HarperCollins); Cellophane, Marie Arana (The Dial Press); and The Fugitive Wife, Peter C. Brown (Norton). For further information, visit www.firstnovelist.vcu.edu.

The First Novelist Award honors the best debut novel published during a calendar year. For 2006, we received more than 100 novels from presses large and small. The selection of the winner was a months-long process that involved over 100 readers from Virginia Commonwealth University and the community of Richmond, VA. This group narrowed the books to a list of finalists and semifinalists, which were announced in May, 2007. These books were then read and reviewed by an independent panel of judges. This year's judges were Karen Fisher, 2006 VCU First Novelist Award winner and author of A Sudden Country; David L. Robbins, author of The Assassins Gallery; and Ward Tefft, owner of Chop Suey Books in Richmond, VA.

As winner, Mr. Orner was invited to attend the annual First Novelist Ceremony at Virginia Commonwealth University, where he received a $1000 cash prize as well as travel expenses and lodging accomodations. The ceremony took place in the fall of 2007 and was designed to highlight the journey of a new writer from idea to publication with specific focus on those elements that make the winner unique. Travel expenses to Richmond and lodging accommodations for the author, agent, and editor were provided.

We would like to express our most sincere thanks to all who entered and thus made this annual contest such a success. Special thanks go to Richmond writer and VCU alumnus David Baldacci (Total Control, Absolute Power), whose generosity helps make the award possible. Co-sponsors include the VCU School of Mass Communications, the VCU School of World Studies, and eFollett VCU Bookstores.

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Fifth Annual VCU First Novelist Award 2005
Karen Fisher for A Sudden Country

The Department of English and the MFA Program in Creative Writing at Virginia Commonwealth University are pleased to announce that A Sudden Country by Karen Fisher was selected as the winner of the Fifth Annual VCU First Novelist Award, awarded for a novel published in the calendar year 2005. Fisher received an honorarium of $1000 and was invited to Richmond all expenses paid, where she participated in the First Novelist Forum and give a public reading in the fall of 2006.

A Sudden Country

Karen Fisher has lived in the West as a teacher, wrangler, farmer, and carpenter. She now lives with her husband and their three children on an island in the Puget Sound.

We would like to express our most sincere thanks to all who entered and thus made this fifth contest such a success, and to the judges as well—Lorraine Adams (author of Harbor and recipient of the fourth VCU First Novelist Award); Sharon Arms Doucet (author of Why Lapin's Ears Are Long and Le Hoogie Boogie Songbook: Louisiana French Music for Children); and Ron Hogan (author of The Stewardess Is Flying the Plane! and publisher of the web site Beatrice). Special thanks go to Richmond writer and VCU alumnus David Baldacci (Total Control, Absolute Power), whose generosity helps make the award possible. Co-sponsors include the VCU School of Mass Communications, the VCU School of World Studies, and eFollett VCU Bookstores.

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Fourth Annual VCU First Novelist Award 2004
Lorrain Adams for Harbor

The Department of English and the MFA Program in Creative Writing at Virginia Commonwealth University are pleased to announce that Harbor by Lorraine Adams was selected as the winner of the Fourth Annual VCU First Novelist Award, awarded for a novel published in the calendar year 2004. Adams received an honorarium of $1000 and was invited to Richmond all expenses paid, where she participated in the First Novelist Forum and gave a public reading in February 2006.

Harbor

Lorraine Adams was educated at Princeton University and was a graduate fellow at Columbia University, where she received a master's degree in literature. She won a Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting and was a staff writer for the Washington Post for eleven years. She lives in Washington, D. C., and is at work on her second novel.

We would like to express our most sincere thanks to all who entered and thus made this fourth contest such a success, and to the judges as well—Jann Malone (editor of the Books and Authors pages of the Richmond Times-Dispatch), Michael Byers (author of Long for This World and recipient of the third VCU First Novelist Award), and John Beckman. Special thanks go to Richmond writer and VCU alumnus David Baldacci (Total Control, Absolute Power), whose generosity helps make the award possible. Co-sponsors include the VCU School of Mass Communications, the VCU School of World Studies, and eFollett VCU Bookstores.

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Third Annual VCU First Novelist Award 2003
Michael Byers for Long for This World

The Department of English and the MFA Program in Creative Writing atVirginia Commonwealth University are pleased to announce that Long for This World by Michael Byers was selected as the winner of the Third Annual VCU First Novelist Award, awarded for a novel published in the calendar year 2003. Byers received an honorarium of $1000 and was invited to Richmond all expenses paid, where he participated in the First Novelist Forum and, as part of the forum, gave a public reading on Friday, September 17. The First Novelist Forum included the presentation of the award, a reading from Long for This World, and a panel discussion about the conception and successful launching of a first novel. In addition, Byers received a pair of commissioned bookends, sculpted by a member of the VCU Fine Arts faculty, and had his work highlighted in the fall 2004 issue of Blackbird: an online journal of literature and the arts.

Long for This World

Michael Byers received his MFA from the University of Michigan and was a Stegner fellow at Stanford University. His story collection, The Coast of Good Intentions, won the Sue Kaufman Prize for first fiction from the Academy of American Arts and Letters. Byers also won a Whiting Foundation Writer’s Award and was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Prize. His stories have been selected for both The Best American Short Stories and The O. Henry Awards.

We would like to express our most sincere thanks to all who entered and thus made this third contest such a success, and to the judges as well—Harry Kolatz (editor of Richmond Magazine), Isabel Zuber (author of Salt and recipient of the second VCU First Novelist Award), and Colleen Curran (author of Whores on the Hill). Special thanks go to Richmond writer and VCU alumnus David Baldacci (Total Control, Absolute Power), whose generosity makes the award possible.