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In this episode, I'm sitting down at the Library of Virginia with bestselling author, director, playwright, podcaster, and friend, Adriana Trigiani, to talk about what it means to be Appalachian.

She is the New York Times bestselling author of twenty-one books of fiction and nonfiction, including the Big Stone Gap series, The View from Lake Como, The Good Left Undone, The Shoemaker’s Wife and Lucia, Lucia. In recent news, she was chosen to write Connie, a new authorized Godfather novel, to be released in the fall of 2027.

Her work has been published in thirty-eight languages around the world. An award-winning playwright, television writer/producer, and filmmaker, Trigiani wrote and directed the major motion picture of her debut novel, Big Stone Gap, adapted her novel, Very Valentine, for television, and directed the award-winning documentary, Queens of the Big Time. She has written for The Washington Post, the Richmond Times Dispatch and Bon Appétit magazine, among others. Adriana hosts the hit podcast, You Are What You Read, where she interviews authors and luminaries about the books that built their souls. In 2023, Adriana was named Cavaliere dell’Ordine della Stella d’Italia by President Sergio Mattarella of Italy, and in 2024, the Library of Virginia awarded her the Patron of Letters degree, their highest honor. She also holds honorary degrees from Saint Mary’s College and the University of New Haven. Adriana is co-founder of the Origin Project, a year-round, in-school writing program that has served over 25,000 students since its inception in 2014. Trigiani is honored to serve on the New York State Council on the Arts.

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Unless another artist is featured, acoustic music on most episodes: "Freight Train" written by Elizabeth Cotten and performed by Landon Spain