A Celebration of Katherine Paterson & Cynthia Leitich Smith
Cynthia Leitich Smith has been named the first Katherine Paterson Chair in VCFA’s MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults program.
Join us Friday, November 6, at 7 pm ET to raise a glass to Cynthia and Katherine as we celebrate their enormous contributions to literature and the VCFA community.
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Cynthia Leitich Smith (above right) is a New York Times and Publishers Weekly bestselling children’s-YA book author, the author curator of the Heartdrum imprint at HarperCollins Children’s Books, and the 2021 Neustadt NSK Laureate. She is a long-time member of the WCYA faculty and a trusted mentor to many. Cynthia lives in Austin, Texas, and is a citizen of the Muscogee Creek Nation.
Katherine Paterson (above left), winner of two Newbery Medals and two National Book Awards, was named one of America’s Living Legends by the Library of Congress. A Montpelier resident, Katherine is also the most dedicated champion of the WCYA program. She is a frequent guest on campus, an unofficial spokesperson for the program, and a founding trustee of the college.
With immense gratitude, VCFA established the Katherine Paterson Chair to support what Katherine believes to be the program’s greatest asset: its faculty. The Chair adds a prestigious role to the faculty roster and supports individuals who might not otherwise be able to teach. The Chair fully participates in residencies but advises fewer students than their peers, giving them time to pursue other work.