In celebration of American novelist Truman Capote’s 100th birthday, on Sept. 17 the Hughlene Bostian Frank Visiting Writers Series hosted authors Zackary Vernon and Wilton Barnhardt and a reading from the winners of the Truman Capote Literary Trust Scholarships for Creative Prose and Poetry.

Capote was an openly gay, southern writer whose works are regarded as classics in the literary world. His most notable works include “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and “In Cold Blood.”

The event was preceded by refreshments including a 100th birthday cake for the late author of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” and began with a reading from the Truman Capote Literary Trust Scholarships for Creative Prose and Poetry winners. The competition was open to current or rising juniors and seniors majoring in English with the creative writing concentration. 

Prose winner Matthew Washington, a senior English major at App State, took his place at the podium and read his winning piece, “Middle School, or How I Learned to Suffer Quietly and Hate the Geese,” a series of scenes following a student’s memorable moments throughout the middle grades, which rang volleys of laughter through the audience. 

Poetry winner Lauren Walker, also a senior English major at App State, followed with a reading of her winning poems, “The River,” “My Father’s Worry” and “Power Outage.” Walker also read another of her works, “The Forest: Forever Home.” Walker’s expertly crafted themes and imagery brought the audience to silence and earned her a loud applause when her reading concluded. 

Visiting writer Vernon followed the fund awardees with a reading from his new and first young adult novel, “Our Bodies Electric,” a coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of a conservative south and in Vernon’s hometown of Pawleys Island, South Carolina. 

Zackary Vernon is an award-winning, Boone-based writer and scholar. His work has been featured in journals such as the Carolina Quarterly and Southern Cultures. As a South Carolina native, Vernon says he frequently looks to the South for inspiration. In 2015, he won the Alex Albright Creative Nonfiction Prize for his essay, “Boone Summer: Adventures of a Bad Environmentalist.”

While Vernon has always had a deep love of creative writing, he didn’t move to writing fiction until he completed his doctorate and wrote academic articles for several years. 

“With nonfiction, you’re usually starting with something you want to investigate, and then ultimately trying to arrive at some sort of argument about it,” Vernon said. “In fiction, there’s a lot more freedom. The characters kind of dictate where they want to go.”

Visiting writer Barnhardt read from the draft of his unfinished novel to finish the readings. Barnhardt is a New York Times and Indiebound bestselling author. His bestselling novel “Lookaway, Lookaway,” was one of  Kirkus Reviewsand Slate Best Books of the Year in 2013. Barnhardt is a professor emeritus at North Carolina State University. 

Barnhardt advised his students and the audience to write everything differently and approach every novel as if it is their first and to not rely on their notoriety to continue their careers. 

During the question and answer session, Barnhardt and Vernon answered questions about their careers and advised the audience on developing their creative process and building confidence in their writing. 

“People said terrible, horrible things about me,” said Bardhardt about the start of his writing career. “After a while, you just get callused. And you say, ‘You know what? I’m not really doing it for anyone else’s approval.’” 

Vernon also spoke on refining and improving the writing process. 

“You have to be disciplined in writing every day,” Vernon said. “It’s amazing when you are writing every day. You live in the world of the characters so much so that the real world around you starts to be filtered through them.” 

While the opening event focused on the legacy of Truman Capote and queer, southern literature, Ashleigh Bryant Phillips, an award-winning author herself, is part of the team turning the wheels on the Hughlene Bostian Frank Visiting Writers Series. She said they have worked to diversify the series and will be featuring writers from a variety of backgrounds and genres. 

After the event concluded, the audience was able to purchase copies of “Our Bodies Electric” and Barnhardt’s newest novel, “Western Alliances,” and get their new copies signed by the visiting writers. Both books are available anywhere books are sold.