“Publication” Class Notes

James Irving (Col ’76 CM) released the seventh installment of his detective mystery series, Friend on the Inside. The series’ protagonist, Joth Proctor, becomes ensnared in a web of danger as he pursues the connection between a suspicious death and a missing-person case. Friend on the Inside is a thrilling ride with college sports gambling at the center.

Rob Clocker (Arch ’90), the managing principal of architecture at design firm Hacin, is celebrating the publication of the firm’s first monograph, Stories of Home: Residential Designs by Hacin, which will be released Nov. 10.

Rick Voit (Educ ’77, Grad ’80) has released his second book, Breaking Through: Making Peace with Reality. Drawing on decades of clinical experience, Voit examines how many emotional symptoms often develop as automatic responses to stress, and how a humanistic, existential approach empowers us to take ownership of constructive change. It is designed for general readers navigating life’s major challenges, as well as psychotherapy students and practicing professionals looking for a grounded perspective on treatment. Voit previously co-authored Hypnosis in Clinical Practice: Steps for Mastering Hypnotherapy.

Alex Shaw (Educ ’09) published Say Yes To Risk: Living Outside the Safety Industrial Complex in October. In it, Shaw defines the “Safety Industrial Complex” and examines the interconnected world of regulatory agencies, public health institutions, the media, the insurance industry, tort law and the safety profession. He uncovers how related incentives, however well-intentioned, continually push us toward more protection, more control and less tolerance for risk.

William L. Friar (Engr ’74 CM) participated in an oral history interview at the request of the Alaska Oil and Gas Historical Society to commemorate the 50 year anniversary of the start-up of the Alaska Pipeline. In 1974, shortly after graduating from UVA, he went to work in Prudhoe Bay, 240 miles north of the Arctic Circle. Friar and his wife are retired and live in Anchorage, Alaska. His daughter Virginia Friar Kane (Engr ’07) and her husband Daniel Kane (Col ’07) also live in Anchorage with their two children.

Coleman Bigelow (Col ’97, Darden ’05 CM) has published These Stories Are Catching, a flash fiction collection from Bottlecap Press. This is his third story collection and includes 10 original game-themed stories. Bigelow’s short stories appear in a wide range of literary journals.

Nelson D. Neal (Educ ’85) published Hemsley Winfield: An Anthology in October 2026. His 35-year research project on Winfield, a pioneering Black American modern dancer, began when he was one of 25 faculty members nationwide chosen to participate in the prestigious Black Tradition in American Modern Dance project held at Duke University in 1991. Neal is a retired professor of dance and physical education. Most recently, he worked as the director and head coach of golf at Camp Wayne for Boys in Wayne County, Pennsylvania.

Cara Goodwin (Col ’07) published “How Can I Reduce My Stress as a Parent?” in RoanokeFamily Magazine. The article draws on the U.S. Surgeon General’s advisory on parent mental health and offers research-backed strategies for easing everyday parenting stress. Her work on why unstructured time builds creativity and independence in children was also adapted for VirginiaSummerCamp.com as “Why Kids Need Boredom.” A licensed clinical psychologist who majored in psychology and neuroscience at UVA, Goodwin is the founder of Parenting Translator and is a mother of four.

Carla Friend Huggins (Educ ’91) wrote RJ’s Story: Our Little Soldier, a narration of the true story of her premature baby son who lived for nearly nine months in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). In the book, his brother JD, who passed away at birth, narrates the story and serves as RJ’s guardian angel. The book follows the family through multiple surgeries, setbacks, holidays, highs and lows. The book is meant as a gentle but honest guide for children with siblings in the NICU.

Christina Shawn (Educ ’08) and illustrator Merry Miller-Gass published No Love Potion, a funny and heartfelt picture book about a no-nonsense witch. While brewing her most powerful spell yet, a “No-Love Potion,” she discovers that a little love is the most magical ingredient of them all. Full of humor, heart and hocus-pocus, No Love Potion is all about discovering friendship and letting others in. The book is perfect for children between 4 and 8 years old.

Stefan Sittig (Col ’94 CM) published Latinidad in Musical Theatre, an exploration of the contribution and representation of Latine artists in musical theatre, with Bloomsbury/Methuen Drama in 2026. In September, he returned to UVA to celebrate its publication and reconnect with the university community. Sittig is a director, choreographer, fight director, educator and author based in the Washington, D.C., area. Currently, he is at work on his second book, Graciela Daniele: A Critical Companion, which examines he career and legacy of the acclaimed Tony Award-winning Argentine Broadway director and choreographer.

Nancy Shainberg Colier (Col ’87) will release her sixth book, Narratives: Let Go of the Stories That Keep You Stuck, in November. Colier is a psychotherapist, interfaith minister, mindfulness teacher and public speaker.

Karin Cather (Col ’86) released A Million Monkeys, a sci-fi mystery thriller novel. Along with co-author Dick Margulis, she also released The Paper It’s Written On: Defining your relationship with an editing client. Cather has worked as a freelance editor for over a decade, specializing in detective fiction, dystopian fiction and speculative fiction, among other genres.

Brian Sneeden (Grad ’14) has published Year of the Labyrinth, a new poetry collection from Carnegie Mellon University Press. This folk-horror pastoral weaves myth and ritual, fatherhood and climate collapse, ghost stories and grief, drawing on Sneeden’s work as a translator and multilingual writer supporting ongoing language preservation efforts worldwide.

Tony Gentry (Educ ’06) published his 11th book, a dystopian novel called Covenant City, in June. The book is set in a near-future Richmond, Virginia, renamed Covenant City. Gentry is a professor emeritus at Virginia Commonwealth University, where he pioneered research into mobile devices and smart homes as cognitive-behavioral aids for people with disabilities.

Ruika Lin (Col ’11) celebrates one year of Fieldnotes From a Watcher, her independent literary journal. The journal publishes creative nonfiction essays monthly, exploring themes as personal as they are universal: belonging, parenthood, grief and loss, cross-cultural experience and intergenerational stories. Lin plans to share more guest writer voices and facilitate personal storytelling workshops regularly.

John Guerard (Grad ’76) published two articles, “A Low Country View” and “Information, Security Selection, Portfolio Construction, and Active Equity Management,” in Wilmott magazine and The Journal of Financial Data Science, respectively. “A Low Country View,” written with co-author Juan Chen, discusses the foundations of American capitalism, the economic success of the Huguenots of South Carolina during the Colonial period, Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations, and UVA’s role in subsequent centuries in defending capitalism in the U.S.

Guerard has authored several books in the Library of Congress. His newest book, Financial Forecasting, is at press with Oxford University Press and Peking University Press. He edited a special issue of Annals of Operations Research to honor Nobel laureate Harry Markowitz, with whom he worked and published, during his 35 years on Wall Street. A third-generation Cavalier, he continues to enjoy visits to Charlottesville.

Pictured on left are Guerard and Kevin Mo (Engr ’09), and on right are Guerard, Harry Markowitz, and Ganlin Xu, a frequent co-author.

Jack Steinberg (Col ’84) produced his fourth feature film, The Cashier, which is slated to screen at the 39th Virginia Film Festival in October. Steinberg is an assistant director member of the Directors Guild of America, with production experience encompassing feature film, television, documentaries, industrials, web-based media, film festival management, corporate training, industry education and commercial shoots for Fortune 50 clients like Google, VISA, Lockheed Martin and Mercedes Benz. His feature film credits include How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Planet of the Apes, Terminator 3, Serenity and The Last Samurai.

Atima Omara (Col ’03 CM) published The Instigators: How Black Women Have Been Essential to American Democracy (And What We Can Learn from Them) in May with HarperCollins. Omara is a nationally recognized political commentator who has been featured in The New York Times, The Atlantic and The Boston Globe. She was also named one of Ebony Magazine’s “Power 100” list of emerging leaders.

Kat (Custodio) Martin (Col ’09, Educ ’09) and Rob Martin (Col ’08) published their new book, Raising the Remnant: Stories and Tools to Help Parents Share Jesus at Home, in August. Drawing on their experiences as church planters and children’s pastors, the book is designed to inspire and equip families to build a strong spiritual foundation at home.

Suzannah Evans Comfort (Col ’03) published The Environmental Beat: Inside the Struggle to Legitimize the Environment as News with the University of Missouri Press in June. The Environmental Beat is a groundbreaking sociology of environmental journalism in the U.S., tracing its origins to the sporting narratives of the 19th century and following the challenges to the beat since its formalization in the 1960s. Comfort is an associate professor of journalism at Indiana University.

John Chilton (Col ’75) and his spouse, Carolyn Moomaw Chilton, have written Even the Stones Will Shout: Shrine Mont at 100, about the history of the titular open-air cathedral in Orkney Springs, Virginia. The couple celebrates their 52nd wedding anniversary in 2026. After living and working around the globe, the couple retired to Carolyn’s hometown of Orkney Springs.

Ebony Walden (Arch ’06) will publish her memoir, Where I’m From: A Poetic Journey Across Five Continents, with She Writes Press in September 2026. Walden is also the creator and host of Black Beyond Borders, a travel documentary series exploring Black identity, culture and belonging across the African diaspora. Season one premiered in fall 2025, and season two is slated to premiere in February 2027.

Derek Baxter (Col ’95) published his second book, The Forgotten World War: Exploring the Secret History of the American Revolution, from Spain to India and Back Again.Baxter tells the story of the Revolutionary War not only as a colonial uprising, but as a vast war fought across four continents. He traveled to many of these places around the world where the war was fought, showing how deeply interconnected America’s story was with events unfolding across globe. His first book, In Pursuit of Jefferson: Traveling through Europe with the Most Perplexing Founding Father, received a starred review from Kirkus Reviews.

Suzette Bishop (Grad ’87) recently published three poetry chapbooks, Eyes of Some Robbers, Unbecoming, and Were-Jag. Bishop has an MFA from UVA and a Doctor of Arts from the State University of Albany.

Ellen Morris Prewitt (Col ’79 CM) released When We Were Murderous Time-Traveling Women, a New Orleans-based fantasy whose protagonist, Etoile, inadvertently calls forth a prince, a saint and her three ancestral grannies. Etoile enlists her grannies to help return the prince to his own time, but turning to three murderous women might not be her best idea. Prewitt, who weaves her Southern life—and family secrets—into her writing, was named to Salvation South‘s “Best of 2025” list for an Honorable Mention on her essay “Granddaughter of the Instigator.”

Mimi Montgomery (Col ’14 CM) will publish her debut novel, Murder Bites, with Penguin Random House on August 4. Murder Bites is a charmingly quirky and clever murder mystery about a death that happens on the set of a reality TV show about dogs. It was named one of Lit Hub‘s most anticipated books of 2026, as well as one of GoodRead’s buzziest debut novels of 2026. Montgomery lives in Washington, D.C., where she’s a reporter at Axios.

James M. Thunder (Grad ’74) and co-author K. Chris Todd wrote United States Attorneys for the District of Columbia, 1801-2024, published by the Historical Society of the D.C. Circuit in April. The book is a compendium of 49 biographies, including Francis Scott Key, and UVA alumni Morgan H. Beach (Law 1884), David G. Bress (Col 1928), Stanley S. Harris (Com ’51, Law ’53), Roscoe C. Howard Jr. (Law ’77), Kenneth L. Wainstein (Col ’84), and Channing D. Phillips (Col ’80). Thunder and Todd thank Anne C. Causey, Randi Flaherty (Grad ’08, ’14), and Cecilia Brown of UVA Special Collections for their assistance in researching the book.

Lara Call Gastinger (Col ’98 CM) published her book, A Perpetual Journal Practice, with Timber Press in June. The book guides readers through the transformative practice of the perpetual journal—a forgiving, incremental, long-term approach to connecting with the natural world through drawing. It features introductory techniques and 52 spreads from Gastinger’s own perpetual journal. Some of Gastinger’s first botanical sketches were in the gardens at UVA. Gastinger gabe a book talk at the CODE Building in Charlottesville on June 27.

Larry Good (Col ’61) has released a new children’s book, The Tree of Ticket Leaves, about the fantastical adventures of a girl, a “deputized question mark,” a tackling dummy and a buffalo unicorn. Good is a former high school teacher and school librarian.

Christopher D. Stanley (Com ’76) retired in 2022 after 30 years as a professor and author focusing on the social and religious world of early Christianity and Judaism. In addition to his academic publications, he recently released the final volume of his historical fiction trilogy, A Slave’s Story. He and his wife, Laurel Stanley (Nurs ’77), live in Southern California.

Page Nelson (Col ’76) and co-translator Leonid Gornik have published Osip Mandelstam: Selected Poems with Carrsbrook Press. Nelson and Gornik’s translation is one of the most comprehensive English-language translations of Mandelstam’s verse currently in print.

Tammy Stempler Priest (Col ’91 CM) released her book, Jerusalem Calls, in August. Part memoir, part biblical history, Jerusalem Calls tells the story of her faith journey—which took an unexpected turn during her time at Virginia—with the rich tradition of Judaism and the Old Testament pilgrimage feasts, from Sinai to Jesus’ ministry to today.

James Currie (Grad ’69, ’75) published his fifth book, Missouri Mule: How Harry Truman’s Stubbornness and Determination Helped Win World War II and Led Him to the Presidency, with Academica Press. It is primarily the story of how Harry Truman went from being in Franklin Roosevelt’s political doghouse to being Roosevelt’s running mate in 1944. Secondarily, it exposes the actions of some of our country’s largest corporations, notably US Steel and Standard Oil of New Jersey, who placed shareholder profits ahead of providing quality military equipment for the war effort.

Steve Huntoon (Col ’78, Law ’82 CM) published his 100th trade press column on the electric power industry. He and his wife, Barbara, live in Wilmington, Delaware, and Boston, near their grandchildren, and in Miami Beach during the winter. He co-hosted a celebration of the Declaration’s 250th anniversary on July 4, 2026, at Jefferson Hall, West Range, on Grounds.

Scott Lambridis (Col ’99) published his debut novel, St. Ulphia’s Dead, with Regal House Publishing in July. A literary novel with a speculative edge, St. Ulphia’s Dead follows two researchers investigating an outbreak of apparent possession on a remote island, where the boundary between science and belief begins to erode. Lambridis, a former neurobiology student, lives in Washington state and earned his MFA from San Francisco State University.

Pamela Norsworthy (Col ’80 CM) published her second historical fiction novel, The Florentine Entanglement, in January. The Florentine Entanglement is a thriller involving the U-2 incident during the Cold War. Norsworthy previously received a nomination for Georgia Author of the Year for her debut novel War Bonds. Both books earned “Get It” tags from Kirkus Reviews. Norsworthy turned to fiction writing after many years as a journalist, with stints at CNN, WVIR-TV in Charlottesville, and other outlets. She lives in Atlanta with her husband, Cameron Gray Norsworthy (Col ’79), a retired Presbyterian pastor, musician and poet.