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Literary Festival returns to TCC

Tidewater Community College’s Literary Festival returns after a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic. This April, the college brings the 19th annual festival back on April 4-6 on TCC’s Chesapeake Campus, 1428 Cedar Road.

All events are free and open to all.

Lit Fest at a Glance:

April 4 – 12:30 p.m.
Best-selling author Lauren Blackwood
Black Box Theatre in the Chesapeake Campus Academic Building

April 6 – Noon – 2 p.m.
The Great Book Giveaway
Chesapeake Campus Academic Building – Atrium

April 6 – 12:30 p.m.
Channel Marker student writer recognition event
Chesapeake Campus Academic Building – Atrium

The celebration includes a keynote event with author Lauren Blackwood on April 4 at 12:30 p.m. in the Black Box Theatre in the Chesapeake Academic Building. Blackwood is a Jamaican American living in Virginia who writes romance-heavy fantasy for most ages. When not writing, she’s a musician and a tiramisu connoisseur.

Blackwood will talk about her writing including her debut young adult fantasy, “Within These Wicked Walls,” which was a New York Times bestseller and a Reese’s Book Club fall 2021 young adult pick. Her first novel is often referred to as an Ethiopian-inspired debut fantasy retelling of Jane Eyre. Blackwood recently released her second work, “Wildblood: A Novel.”

Literary Fest continues with the Great Book Giveaway on April 6 from noon to 2 p.m. in the Atrium of the Chesapeake Academic Building. Come and find some titles to take home and enjoy. Hundreds of books will be on display including nonfiction, fiction, textbooks, cookbooks and children’s books.

The Great Book Giveaway also includes a raffle of “The Princess Bride – S. Morgenstern’s Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure” by William Goldman. Donated by English Professor Doug Thiele, this 25th-anniversary edition includes the first chapter of the long-lost sequel, “Buttercup’s Baby.”

The college will also recognize student authors during the Channel Marker recognition event on April 6 at 12:30 p.m. in the Atrium of the Chesapeake Academic Building. Top student writers will read from their works in Channel Marker, TCC’s student literary publication.

For more information about Lit Fest 2023, please contact Dean Marcee Andersen at mandersen@tcc.edu.