W.Va. Book Festival Announces Featured Authors For 2024

West Virginia’s annual book festival celebrating national and regional authors will come to the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center this October.

The 2024 West Virginia Book Festival’s featured speakers are New York Times bestselling author Gregg Hurwitz, novelist Sadeqa Johnson, cartoonist and graphic novelist Gene Luen Yang, author of historical fiction Joy Callaway and award-winning writer Mia Manansala.

About The Authors

Gregg Hurwitz

Gregg Hurwitz is the New York Times #1 bestselling author of 24 thrillers including the Orphan X series. Critically acclaimed, his novels have been international bestsellers, graced top ten lists and have been published in 32 languages. 

Sadeqa Johnson

Sadeqa Johnson is a New York Times bestselling author of five novels. Her most recent novel, The House of Eve, was an instant New York Times Best Seller, Target book club pick, Reese’s Book Club selection and nominated for a NAACP Image Award. Her previous novel, Yellow Wife, was named by Oprah Magazine as “27 of 2021 Most Anticipated Winter Historical Fiction books.” 

Gene Luen Yang

Gene Luen Yang writes, and sometimes draws, comic books and graphic novels. He was named a National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature by the Library of Congress in 2016, and advocates for the importance of reading, especially reading diversely. His graphic novel, American Born Chinese, is a National Book Award finalist and Printz Award winner. It has also been adapted into an original series on Disney+. 

Joy Callaway

Joy Callaway is an international bestselling author of six works of historical fiction, including The Grand Design, set at The Greenbrier in 1908 and 1946, and the recently released, What The Mountains Remember, set during the building of Grove Park Inn in 1913. She holds a B.A. in Public Relations from Marshall University and a master’s degree in Mass Communication from the University of South Carolina.

Mia Manansala

Mia Manansala is a writer and book coach from Chicago who loves books, baking and “bad-ass women.” She uses humor (and murder) to explore aspects of the Filipino diaspora, queerness and her millennial love for pop culture. She is the winner of the 2022 Anthony Award for Best First Novel, 2022 Macavity Award for Best First Novel, 2022 RUSA Reading List for Mystery, 2021 Agatha Award for Best First Novel and the 2018 Hugh Holton Award.

What To Expect

Leading up to the book festival, on Oct. 17, the West Virginia Humanities Council will present the 41st annual McCreight Lecture in the Humanities. Novelist and poet Percival Everett is this year’s speaker. Everett is the author of more than 30 books of fiction and poetry. He is a Pulitzer Prize finalist and his novel Erasure was recently adapted into the Oscar-winning film American Fiction. 

In addition to the five national bestselling authors, the event will also feature local and regional authors, writing workshops, family activities, a literary marketplace and the annual Used Book Sale. The 2024 West Virginia Book Festival will be held Oct. 19. 

All events and programs are free and open to the public.

The West Virginia Book Festival is made possible by its charter presenters, The Kanawha County Public Library, The Library Foundation of Kanawha County, Inc., The West Virginia Humanities Council and The Charleston Gazette-Mail. 

Sponsors for this year’s festival include West Virginia Public Broadcasting, The West Virginia Library Commission, The West Virginia Center for the Book, The Marshall University Foundation, The Friends of The Library, Truist West Virginia Foundation, H.B. Wehrle Foundation, and the Nelle Ratrie Chilton Charitable Trust.

For more information, visit www.wvbookfestival.org.