David Joy: Looking Glass Rock Writers’ Conference Author Readings

Looking Glass Rock Writers’ Conference faculty member David Joy will give public readings of his work at the Transylvania County Library on Saturday, May 16, at 7:30 pm. 

Sponsored by the Transylvania County Library Foundation and Brevard College, The Looking Glass Rock Writers’ Conference (LGRWC) offers a unique creative experience for writers, exploring the theme “A Sense of Place.” Conference participants will work closely with award-winning writers Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle, Terrance Hayes, and Elizabeth Rush. In addition, conference faculty will present public readings of their work on Friday, May 16 at Brevard College’s Porter Center and Saturday, May 17 at the Transylvania County Library.  Both events are free to attend and open to the community. Highland Books will be on-site with books for sale, and the authors will be available to sign copies after their presentations. Workshop attendees were selected based on applications submitted last fall; applications for May 2027 workshops will open in September 2026.

Fiction workshop leader David Joy grew up in the Piedmont along the Catawba River, moved away at eighteen, and has spent the last 22 years 100 miles west in the mountains of Jackson County. His work is place-driven and deeply rooted to Appalachia, and has been translated into six languages. In 2023, his debut novel was adapted to film starring Billy Bob Thornton and Robin Wright. David Joy is a critically acclaimed author known for his raw, unflinching portrayals of life in rural Appalachia. With novels that pulse with tension, beauty, and heartbreak, Joy has established himself as one of the foremost voices in contemporary Southern literature. His works delve into the complexities of poverty, crime, family, and the human spirit, capturing both the grit and grace of a region too often misunderstood. Joy is the author of five novels, including Those We Thought We Knew (winner of the 2023 Willie Morris Award and the 2023 Thomas Wolfe Prize), When These Mountains Burn (winner of the 2020 Dashiell Hammett Award), The Line That Held Us (winner of the 2018 Southern Book Prize), The Weight of This World, and Where All Light Tends to Go (Edgar finalist for Best First Novel). His stories and creative nonfiction have appeared in a number of publications, most recently Garden & Gun, The New York Times Magazine, and TIME. He is also the author of the memoir Growing Gills: A Fly Fisherman’s Journey and a coeditor of Gather at the River: Twenty-Five Authors on Fishing, a book he spearheaded to raise money for the CAST For Kids Foundation. Joy lives in Tuckasegee, North Carolina with his dog Edie Munster.