Tom Coash (Playwriting, 1990-91 & 1993)
Tom Coash taught playwriting at the Workshop from 1990-1991 and again in 1993. His plays have won numerous awards, including The Kennedy Center’s Lorraine Hansberry Award. Read more. Photo Credit: Playwrights’ Center
Lydia Conklin (Graphic Text & Fiction, 2015-2018)
Lydia Conklin taught graphic text and fiction at the Workshop from 2015-2018. They have drawn cartoons for The New Yorker and Narrative magazine and their fiction has appeared in Tin House, American Short Fiction, and The Southern Review, among others. Read more.
John D’earth (Songwriting, 1984-1988 & 1990)
Along with his late wife, Dawn Thompson, John D’earth founded the program’s songwriting workshop in 1984 and initiated the annual Jazz Poetry series. He is the Director of Jazz Performance at the University of Virginia and the music director of the Thompson D’earth Band.
Photo credit: The Hook ADD NUMBER OF ALBUMS? Photo Credit: RVANews
Cornelius Eady (Poetry, 1984)
Cornelius Eady taught poetry at the Workshop in 1984. He was a National Book Award finalist for his 2001 collection, Brutal Imagination; a 1999 Pulitzer Prize finalist in drama for Running Man, a roots opera based on his poems; and a 1992 Pulitzer Prize finalist for his poetry collection, The Gathering of My Name. He is the 1985 Lamont Poetry Prize for Victims of the Latest Dance Craze and the co-founder of Cave Canem.
Emma Copley Eisenberg (Fiction, 2014)
Emma Copley Eisenberg taught fiction in 2014. Her fiction and nonfiction have appeared in Esquire, The New York Times, and The Virginia Quarterly Review, among others. Her nonfiction book, The Third Rainbow Girl: The Long Life of a Double Murder in Appalachia (Hachette Books) was a New York Times Notable Book of 2020. She lives in Philadelphia, where she directs Blue Stoop, a hub for the literary arts. Photo Credit: Catapult
Sarah Estes (Poetry, 2006-2007)
Sarah Estes taught poetry at the Workshop from 2006-2007. A widely published science writer, essayist, and poet, she is the author of the chapbook Hive Bone and the poetry collection, Field Work.
Lilah Hegnauer (Poetry, 2012)
Lilah Hegnauer taught poetry at the Workshop in 2012 and has been a guest reader in multiple summers. Her second book of poetry, Pantry, won the Hub City Press New Southern Voices Poetry Award and was published in February 2014. Read more about Lilah.
Greg Howard (Songwriting, 1990-1991 & 1994-1997)
Greg Howard taught songwriting at the Workshop for most of the program’s second decade. He is a Chapman stick player, songwriter, and author of The Stick Book, Volume 1 and The Greg Howard Songbook.
Ann Hudson (Poetry, 1998 & 2001-2002)
Ann Hudson joined the residential staff as a counselor and teacher from 1991-1994, served as residential Head Counselor from 1995-98, and returned as a teaching poet in 2000 and 2001. She is the author of two chapbooks, The Armillary Sphere (2006) and Glow (2021). Read more.
Christina Baker Kline (Freelance, 1991)
Christina Baker Kline taught freelance journalism at the Workshop in 1991. She is the author of the New York Times bestselling novels Orphan Train, A Piece of the World, and The Exiles. Photo Credit: Karin Diana
Kenny Marotta (Fiction, 1986-2010)
Kenny Marotta is a Workshop institution, having worked as a fiction instructor from 1986-2010. He is the author of the linked short story collection, A House on The Piazza, as well as the novel, A Piece of Earth.
Gene Osborn (Songwriting, 2010 & 2012-2013)
Gene Osborn taught songwriting at the Workshop in 2010 and 2012. He fronts the Charlottesville band We Are Star Children.
Michael Parker (Fiction, 1988 & 1990-1992)
Michael Parker taught fiction at the Workshop from 1988-1992. He is the author of seven novels and two short story collections and has won numerous O’Henry and Pushcart prizes.
Thomas Pierce (Fiction, 2012)
Thomas Pierce taught fiction at the Workshop in 2012 and returned as a Visiting Writer in 2015. The author of a novel and a short story collection, he has published numerous stories in The New Yorker.
Donald Platt (Poetry, 1990)
Donald Platt taught poetry at the Workshop in 1990. He is the author of three poetry collections. Photo credit: CavanKerry Press
Tom Prasada-Rao (Songwriting, 2000-2007)
Tom Prasada-Rao taught songwriting at the Workshop from 2000-2007. He has released five albums and what else to add?
Dana Roeser (Poetry, 1986-1988)
Dana Roeser taught poetry at the Workshop from 1986-1988. Her four books of poetry have earned her numerous awards including a Pushcart Prize. Photo credit: Donald Platt
Mary Ann Samyn (Poetry, 1995)
Mary Ann Samyn taught poetry at the Workshop in 1995. She is the author of six full-length collections of poetry and teaches at West Virginia University. Photo credit: Christa Paravanni
Lisa Russ Spaar (Poetry, 1990-92 & 1994)
Lisa Russ Spaar taught poetry at the Workshop from 1990-1992 and again in 1994. She has authored many collections of poetry, edited three poetry anthologies, and published a collection of essays. She is Professor of English and Creative Writing at the University of Virginia.
Mary Szybist (Poetry, 2003)
Mary Szybist taught poetry at the Workshop in 2003. She has published two poetry collections, the second of which, Incarnadine, won the 2013 National Book Award.