NEW PIEDMONT LAUREATE

919’S NEW Piedmont Laureate

HEATHER BELL ADAMS HOPES TO BUILD LITERACY, CELEBRATE THE ART OF WRITING

Raleigh-based fiction writer Heather Bell Adams is the region's 2022 Piedmont Laureate – a position she hopes will build literacy, and celebrate the art of writing.

Throughout 2022, Bell Adams will appear at virtual and in-person programming, including workshops, reading programs, and speaking engagements throughout Wake, Durham and Orange counties.

“Heather is a wonderful writer, but she is also a great advocate for writing,” said Tommy Jenkins, Professor of English at Louisburg College. “She shows the hard work that goes into writing and how our own histories can be inspiration.”

As Piedmont Laureate, Bell Adams will also create at least one original activity to expand appreciation of the work of fiction.

“Heather is a perfect example of someone who will highlight the craft of writing to all writers in the region,” said Linda Janssen and Jorge D. Cortese, Orange and Durham County Representatives, North Carolina Writers Network. “She manages to make complex subjects understandable to all writing levels, whether in-person for large groups or through online sessions. She succeeds at being comprehensive without overwhelming those at the beginning of their writing careers or practices.”

Bell Adams’ novels – Maranatha Road (West Virginia University Press 2017) and The Good Luck Stone (Haywire Books 2020) appear on reading lists for Deep South Magazine, Writer’s Bone, The Big Other, and Buzz Feed. Winner of an IPPY gold medal, Next Generation Book Award, Rose Post Creative Nonfiction Award, Carrie McCray Literary Award, and James Still Fiction Prize, Heather’s fiction and literary scholarship are featured in The Thomas Wolfe Review, Atticus Review, Pembroke Magazine, The Petigru Review, Broad River Review, and other journals.

Photos Courtesy of Megan Cash Photography

North Carolina Fiction Writer Heather Bell Adams is the 2022 Piedmont Laureate

Heather (Bell Adams)

is a wonderful writer, but she is also a great advocate for writing. She shows the hard work that goes into writing and how our own histories can be inspiration.

TOMMY JENKINS Professor of English, Louisburg College

A lifelong North Carolinian (originally from Hendersonville), Bell Adams frequently speaks at literary conferences and leads writing workshops. She lives in Raleigh with her husband and son – and works as a lawyer, focusing on financial services litigation.

The Piedmont Laureate program is dedicated to building a literary bridge for residents to come together and celebrate the art of writing. Co-sponsored by the City of Raleigh Arts Commission, Durham Arts Council, Orange County Arts Commission, and United Arts Council of Raleigh & Wake County, the Piedmont Laureate program’s mission is to “promote awareness and heighten appreciation for excellence in the literary arts throughout the Piedmont region.”

The program focuses on a different literary form each year, including poetry, novels, creative non-fiction, drama/screenwriting, children’s literature, short fiction, speculative fiction, and mystery fiction.

For more information about the Piedmont Laureate program and to view a schedule of the 2022 activities, visit piedmontlaureate.org. For more information about Bell Adams, visit her website at heatherbelladams.com.

What is the Piedmont Laureate Program?

The Piedmont Laureate program is co-sponsored by the City of Raleigh Arts Commission, Durham Arts Council, Orange County Arts Commission, and United Arts Council of Raleigh & Wake County. Its primary goal is to promote awareness and heighten appreciation for excellence in the literary arts in the Piedmont region of North Carolina.

The program is dedicated to building a literary bridge for residents to come together and celebrate the art of writing, enriching the lives of all our citizens.

Each year, a Piedmont Laureate is appointed for a one-year term and conducts the following activities in Durham, Orange and Wake counties: n Readings at designated public sites such as libraries, arts centers, schools, universities, and other community gathering places; n Workshops or other types of outreach that encourage creative writing for all age groups; n Online activities that promote literature and encourage creative writing; n Promotion of literature at select public events; n Participating in events that bring attention to literature in less traditional settings and other original activities that expand appreciation of the literary arts.

The 2022 Piedmont Laureate is fiction writer Heather Bell Adams. To request her participation in public events, visit piedmontlaureate.org/contact.