MCDERMOTT TO SPEAK AT VIRGINIA FESTIVAL OF THE BOOK LUNCHEON

Charlottesville, VA (Jan. 25, 1999) -- Alice McDermott, winner of the 1998 National Book Award for Fiction, will speak at the Virginia Festival of the Book's Annual Luncheon on Friday, March 26, 1999. She will be introduced by First Lady of Virginia Roxane Gilmore. Ms. McDermott's award-winning novel, Charming Billy, was described by The New York Times Book Review as "Eloquent...heartbreaking...McDermott is brilliant." Publisher's Weekly says, "McDermott's compassionate candor about the demands of faith and the realities of living brings an emotional resonance to her seamlessly told, exquisitely nuanced tale."

Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1953, McDermott received her B.A. from the State University of New York and an M.A. from the University of New Hampshire. She has taught at the University of California at San Diego, has been a writer in residence at Lynchburg and Hollins Colleges in Virginia, and was a lecturer in English at the University of New Hampshire. In 1982 McDermott's first novel, A Bigamist's Daughter, received wide acclaim. That Night, her second novel, was nominated for the National Book Award and for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. McDermott currently teaches writing at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and lives in Maryland with her husband, who is a neuroscientist, and their three children.

The luncheon will be held on Friday at noon at the Omni Charlottesville Hotel. Parking is available at the hotel which is located at 235 West Main Street on the historic Downtown Mall. Tickets are $25 and may be obtained by writing to the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities at 145 Ednam Drive, Charlottesville VA 22903. Please send a check or money order with your return address, and the tickets will be mailed to you. Or you may call us at (804)924-3296.

Other Highlights
Included at the 1999 festival will be readings by Allan Gurganus, Sharyn McCrumb, James McBride, and Jonathan Yardley; a discussion on American military history with Robert L. Hemphill, Edward Bonekemper, Scott C. Patchan, and Jimmy Bryant; poetry readings by Sonia Sanchez, Sharan Stange, and Opal Moore; readings and discussions with bestselling authors David Baldacci, Rita Mae Brown, and Tami Hoag; and an evening of espionage with Daniel Silva, Christopher and Annette Drew, and Bill Harlow.

Advance programs will be mailed early February. Call (804)924-3296 for a press kit.