2026 Martha Hull Copenhaver Lecture featuring author John Copenhaver
Join us Saturday, July 25th at 4pm for the first speaker of the yearly Martha Hull Copenhaver Lecture Series –John Copenhaver, an award-winning author whose latest novel, Hall of Mirrors, was selected as a New York Times Crime Novel of the Year and recently won the Left Coast Crime Award for Best Historical Mystery. His debut, Dodging and Burning, won the 2019 Macavity Award for Best First Mystery, and his second novel, The Savage Kind, earned the 2021 Lambda Literary Award. He is also the co-editor of Crime Ink: Iconic, an anthology of crime fiction inspired by LGBTQ+ cultural icons.
Originally from Marion, Virginia, Copenhaver’s work is deeply informed by place, history, and the social pressures that shape identity and moral choice. His fiction and criticism have appeared in CrimeReads, Electric Lit, Writer’s Digest, PANK, The Washington Independent Review of Books, and other publications. He is a six-time recipient of Artist Fellowships from the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities and a Larry Neal Awardee. A longtime educator and mentor, Copenhaver teaches creative writing and literature at Virginia Commonwealth University and works with writers in the Low-Residency MFA program at the University of Nebraska Omaha. He lives in Richmond, Virginia with his husband, ceramic artist Jeffery Paul Herrity.
Copenhaver’s new novel, Goddess of Love, A Mystery, will be available March 2, 2027.
The Martha Hull Copenhaver Lecture Series will take place in the lower level of the Marion Public Library in the (Preston) Copenhaver Meeting Room.
Have questions? Contact us.
Rachel Gibson
Adult Programming Librarian
RachelG@SCPLVA.net
(276) 783-2323 ext. 231
