This in-person event is a part of the 2026 Virginia Festival of the Book and will take place at the shop.
Three authors will discuss their middle grade stories, each written with honesty and meaning in true-to-life fiction.
In Dionna L. Mann’s Mama’s Chicken and Dumplings, a ten-year-old girl living in segregated 1930s Charlottesville is determined to find a man for her mother—but Mama’s own mind keeps getting in the way.
The Teacher of Nomad Land: A World War II Story, winner of the 2025 National Book Award, follows a brother, Babak, and his little sister, who were orphaned in 1940s Iran, a neutral country full of British soldiers and Nazi spies. Babak’s plan to become a teacher is thrown into jeopardy when the siblings meet a Jewish boy in hiding—and so too is the trio’s very survival.
Allan Wolf’s The Vanishing of Lake Peigneur: A Graphic Novel Based on a True Story is about a Louisiana lake that, well, vanished —flushing fish, boats, barges, and even an oil rig down a whirlpool. The lake itself knows the story of the oil industry that caused this catastrophe.
This event is a part of StoryFest, sponsored by CharlottesvilleFamily.
For more information, visit vabook.org.
Order the Books Ahead of Time from New Dominion Bookshop
Shop local and support your community bookshop! You can order your books ahead of time for the 2026 Virginia Festival of the Book by filling out the contact form below. Please make sure that you list the book title(s) that you would like to order. We will give you a call when your order is ready. There is no need to pre-pay. We will collect your payment when you pick up your order or when your order is shipped. Books will also be for sale on-site at the event. (There is no need to place an order if you plan to attend the event and purchase books there in person.)