Nancy Peacock, a Hillsborough-based novelist, has been selected as the region’s 2018 Piedmont Laureate. During 2018, Peacock will appear at workshops, reading programs and speaking engagements throughout Wake, Durham and Orange counties.
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 the 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.
As Piedmont Laureate, Peacock receives an honorarium and serve until Dec. 31. Her duties will include presenting public readings and workshops, participating at select public functions and creating at least one original activity to expand appreciation of writing.
A schedule of the Laureate’s 2018 activities will be posted on the sponsoring agency websites and on the Piedmont Laureate website.
Nancy Peacock has been writing since fourth grade. She is largely self-taught and well-mentored. She is the author of the novels “Life Without Water” (chosen as a New York Times Notable Book),” Home Across the Road,” and “The Life and Times of Persimmon Wilson,” as well as the memoir and “writing-in-the-real-world” guide “A Broom of One’s Own: Words on Writing, Housecleaning and Life.
Peacock runs a popular set of writing workshops and retreats in Hillsborough. Her free Prompt Writing Class has been active since 2003, and continues to grow steadily.
“Telling stories and reading stories changes you,” says Peacock. “Both allow one human being to reach more deeply into the experiences of another. Both involve our two greatest gifts: the tools of empathy and imagination.”
Peacock will be officially recognized as the 2018 Piedmont Laureate at the State of Arts and Culture in Wake County at the North Carolina Museum of Art on Jan. 16. This event is free and open to the public.
