“Publication” Class Notes

Don Zillman (Law ’73) published two books. He co-wrote Living the World War, Vol. Two (Vandeplas Publishers), which is a week by week study of America’s participation in World War I using sources like The New York Times and the Congressional Record. He was also an editor of Innovation in Energy Law and Technology (Oxford University Press), in which 37 legal scholars examine the technological and legal changes that are driving the world economy.

Heather D. Curtis (Col ’91 L/M) published Holy Humanitarians: American Evangelicals & Global Aid (Harvard University Press, 2018). The book examines the crucial role popular religious media played in the extension of US philanthropy at home and abroad from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century. Curtis is an Associate Professor of Religion at Tufts University. She is also the director of the American Studies Program and an affiliated faculty in history, international religions and the Tisch College of Civic Life.

Neva Bryan (Col ’89 L/M) is among the poets, essayists and fiction writers published in the 2018 volume of the Anthology of Appalachian Writers, for which New York Times bestselling author Wiley Cash served as editorial adviser. This year’s volume includes the work of two state poet laureates. Bryan is the author of three novels and a collection of short stories and poems. 

Caitlin L. Ryan (Col ’01) has published Reading the Rainbow: LGBTQ-Inclusive Literacy Instruction in the Elementary Classroom. Drawing on several years of research by Ryan and her co-author, Jill Hermann-Wilmarth, the book uses examples of teaching from a wide range of elementary classrooms to explain why and how LGBTQ-inclusive literacy instruction is possible, relevant and necessary in grades K–5. Ryan is currently an associate professor of reading education in the College of Education at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina.

Ashley Ellington Brown (Col ’90) published her first book, A Beautiful Morning: How a Morning Ritual Can Feed Your Soul and Transform Your Life (Leo Press), on Feb. 22, 2018. Brown interviewed more than 20 successful women, including New York Times best-selling author and life coach Martha Beck. The women discuss how their morning routines enable them to steer their lives with purpose and experience more joy, and provide suggestions for the reader on how to create a personally meaningful morning ritual.

Christina Dalcher (Col ’89) will publish her first novel, published by Berkley Books (Penguin Random House), on Aug. 21, 2018. While VOX imagines a world where women are only allowed to speak 100 words a day, it also examines language as the basis of our humanity, and freedom of speech as a right to be treasured.

Frank B. Connolly (Arch ’72) has published a second book, Hidden Agendas Inside Town Hall. The novel follows the fighting and political shenanigans that take place in an imaginary Connecticut community as it struggles with a proposed land development. Mr. Connolly’s first book, Local Government in Connecticut, 3rd Edition, was published in 2013 by Wesleyan University Press and won the press’s 2013 Driftless Award for an outstanding book on a Connecticut topic or written by a Connecticut author.

Susan Perng Pan (Engr ’91 L/M) and Michael Tobin (Col ’11), authored a case law reference, The Essential Case Law Guide to PTAB Trials. Ms. Pan is a partner with Sughrue Mion, where Mr. Tobin is an associate. The book, co-authored with their Sughrue colleagues, is the first comprehensive text on decisions of the U.S. Patent Office regarding the newest form of administrative law practice before that agency. Through analysis and summary of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s decisions, the text identifies boundaries of the organization’s rules, providing guidance for handling these highly specialized matters before the U.S. Patent Office. The book, available here, will be published by the American Bar Association’s section on intellectual property law.

Tony Covington (Col ’90) self-published a memoir, I Am Underdog: A Journey of Adversity & Blessings on May 18, 2017.

Paula HIll Jasinski (Col ’89 L/M) and her husband published the Chesapeake Bay Ecosystem Atlas, a digital environmental text focused on the Chesapeake Bay region. Produced with funding from and in collaboration with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the text uses the organization’s science and research from around the Chesapeake Bay to explain how the ecosystem works, including chapters on the bay’s formation, connections between water quality and precipitation, food web interactions, climate change, and more. The atlas is being used by schools throughout the Chesapeake Bay region and is available to download for free on iTunes.

Jodie Rundle Berndt (Col ’84 L/M) published Praying the Scriptures for Your Adult Children in December 2017 (HarperCollins/Zondervan). A follow-up to the bestselling Praying the Scriptures for Your Children and Praying the Scriptures for Your Teens, the new book became an Amazon Bestseller in its first week—probably because of Chapter 17 (which talks about UVA) and Chapter 10 (which is where parents can pray that their kids will get a job)! Ms. Berndt and her husband, Robert (Col ’85 L/M), have four adult children—all Wahoos!—and two sons-in-law who (sigh) graduated from Virginia Tech.

Linsey Davis (Col ’99), an Emmy award-winning journalist and ABC News correspondent, has published The World is Awake: A Celebration of Everyday Blessings (Zonderkidz), an inspirational picture book that encourages children to celebrate and be thankful for the everyday blessings of life.The lyrical, rhyming story, intended to make young children feel joyful and safe, is paired with bright and engaging illustrations to inspire children to see the extraordinary in an ordinary day. The book is available for preorder now and will be in bookstores February 6th. For more information visit the Ms. Davis’ website.

Charlie Szoradi (Arch ’89) published a book, Learn from Looking: How Observation Inspires Innovation, in February 2017 that is now available in large format and eBook as well as the standard 6″ x 9″ size. The book includes Mr. Szoradi’s travel drawings and insights on sustainability from over two decades of his travels around the world. Charlie is a LEED AP Architect and the the CEO of Independence LED Lighting, one of the first American manufacturers of energy-saving commercial LED lighting.

David Black (Educ ’64, ’67 L/M) has published his fourth collection of poetry, Aspects of a Crosscut Saw & Other Poems (Persimmon Tree Press).

Leo Hirrel (Grad ’81, ’89) published a book, Supporting the Doughboys: U.S. Army Logistics and Personnel During World War I (Ft. Leavenworth: Combat Studies Institute, 2017). The book is available online for free from the Army University Press. Mr. Hirrel also retired as the U.S. Army Quartermaster School historian in February 2017.

Brendan Mathews (Grad ’05) published a book, The World of Tomorrow (Little, Brown & Co.), on Sept. 5, 2017. The book has received starred reviews from several outlets, including Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews, and was included on “best of fall books” lists in publications including The New York Post, Wall Street Journal and O, The Oprah Magazine. It also received a full-page review in The New York Times Book Review, which also named the book to an editors’ choice list. More information is available at www.brendanmathews.com. More information is available at www.brendanmathews.com.

Rafael X. Zahralddin-Aravena (Arch ’89 L/M), director, shareholder and chair of the commercial bankruptcy and restructuring practice with Elliott Greenleaf, is the co-editor for the newly released American Bar Association’s third revised edition of Reorganizing Failing Businesses. This two volume treatise analyzes key situations from the perspective of the varied constituencies within a restructuring process. Mr. Zahralddin-Aravena is also an author for several chapters in the book. More information is available here.

Michael Blanchard (Col ’73 L/M) has published Naming the Silence: New & Selected Poems. The new collection is a sampling of poetry written and published by Mr. Blanchard over five decades. While a student at the University, he was an Echols Scholar, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and twice won the University Union Fine Arts Award for Poetry. He also earned a master’s degree from Indiana University and completed additional graduate study at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He taught literature and creative writing at Troy University, where he served as editor of the university’s literary magazine and was presented the Ingalls Award for Excellence in Classroom Teaching, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University, and the University of Louisiana. For over 20 years, he has also been an advocate for compassionate care of the dying through his work with hospice organizations in Louisiana and North Carolina. Now retired, he lives and writes in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Ted Weihe (Arch ’79) has published his eighth book, a memoir titled Transitions: American Values of Democracy and Free Markets in the Post-Cold War World. The book details how cooperatives and people-to-people assistance elevated the economic and social lives of millions in the diverse fields of telecommunications, agriculture, micro-insurance and health as the U.S. tried to export its vision of free markets and democracy following the Cold War. Mr. Weihe was present during this transition, a time he calls a “magic moment with much hope and new opportunities,” and began projects in countries around the world.

David Black (Educ ’64, ’67 L/M) has announced the reprinting of his first book of poetry, Some Task, Long Forgotten and Other Poems (Persimmon Tree Press, 2017). He is also the author of The Clown in the Tent and Shortcomings: Around the Grounds & Corner.

Alison Millett McCartney (Grad ’94, ’00) was one of four editors of a new publication, Teaching Civic Engagement Across the Disciplines, which was featured at the American Political Science Association annual conference in San Francisco in September.

Mark Rosenberg (Col ’96) wrote a book of poetry, “I Can’t Shut My Eyes,” which was published online in 2007 by UMass ScholarWorks Press. It has been downloaded nearly 1,000 times and taught in reading groups at Cambridge University. He now owns a tutoring company in Seattle, where he lives.

Sally Mabelle (Col ’82) published a new book, The Voice of Leadership: Six Keys to Presence, Influence, and Creative Confidence, in September 2017. Ms. Mabelle resides in Auckland, New Zealand.

Hayden Saunier (Col ’79 L/M) has published her third collection of poetry, How To Wear This Body, from Terrapin Books. She is the author of Tips for Domestic Travel and Say Luck, which won the 2013 Gell Poetry Prize. Ms. Saunier’s has appeared in journals and periodicals, and her poetry has been awarded the Pablo Neruda Prize, the Rattle Poetry Prize, the Keystone Award and the Robert Fraser Award.

Christa Avampato (Darden ’07) has written a young adult urban fantasy novel, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, which will be published by Possibilities Publishing Co. on November 1, 2017. It tells the story of a teenage girl who visits a rare bookstore that causes her to embark on a journey to discover the answers about her mother’s mysterious death at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Deep below the streets of New York City, she finds herself on a dangerous adventure into a magical world of books. The book can be found in several formats here.

J. Michael McNealy (Col ’92 L/M) recently published his first book, Skeleton Horse, available on Amazon paperback and Kindle. The novel is book 1 of a series he conceptualized during his second combat tour of Iraq. The series follows the lives of several characters as they fight the global war on terrorism both overseas and at home, capturing their struggles and triumphs as they endure for one moment more. It’s part biography, part therapy, and part imagination at work for someone who tries to find the humor in the darkest of times and knows the joy that life has to offer.

Judithe Linse Little (Col ’87, Law ’90) has written a historical novel, Wickwythe Hall, which was released in Sept. 2017 by Black Opal Books. One of the novel’s main characters was inspired by a Virginian who grew up in Greenwood just outside of Charlottesville. Set against the backdrop of World War II, Wickwythe Hall takes place in a country house in England in 1940 where Prime Minister Winston Churchill is a guest. Foreword Reviews calls the novel “a riveting and enlightening mix of history and fiction that puts a human face on the costs of war.”

To learn more about Wickwythe Hall, visit judithelittle.com.

Baylor “Giles” Cromwell (Col ’63 L/M) has written a new book, The Cromwell Collection: Virginia Weapons and Other Materiel of the American Revolution. After years of research and collecting, the author records important 18th century Virginia-related weapons, documents, accoutrements and other related military artifacts. Each photograph is accompanied by a detailed description that defines its place in the state’s history during the war. This hard cover, full color book will serve as a reference for both identification and future research and will be recognized as the first concerted effort to focus on many scarce examples associated with the revolution. Orders can be made by mail: Shenandoah Muse, P. O. Box 2097, Staunton, VA, 24401.

Kerry McNabb Reed (Col ’04) has released her debut novel, a young adult fantasy called Dreamscape. She currently resides outside Philadelphia with her husband Daniel Reed (Col ’04 L/M) and three sons. She can be reached at www.kerry-reed.com or www.facebook.com/kerryreedwrites. 

Robin Ward (Educ ’97) recently published Count on University of Virginia: Fun Facts from 1 to 12, a book that entices young readers to enjoy the beauty and history of UVA’s campus, while counting from 1 to 12. The rhyming narrative and colorful illustrations capture the twelve months and four seasons, and help the reader discern even and odd numbers. Two coloring pages included. Available at Amazon and at MascotBooks.com

Peter Newman (Col ’74) recently published his new book, Unveiling the Bride: The New Covenant Church. Mr. Newman is the author of The Meaning of the Cross (2013).

Robert Schwab (Col ’79, Med ’83) will have his second novel, Back Side of a Hurricane, published on June 28, 2017. In the book, a man travels to South Carolina, racing the approach of Hurricane Hugo, searching for a memory of his father.  The man he most needs help from turns out to the one man who wants his search to fail. The book explores the relationship between fathers and their children, and the wisdom of sitting still when chaos swirls around you. The author is a physician executive in the DFW metroplex. He travels and speaks about the role of the humanities in the professional development of physicians, and also teaches premedical students at the University of Texas at Dallas.

John B. Boles (Grad ’69) has published a comprehensive biography entitled Jefferson: Architect of American Liberty (Basic Books, 2017).

Steven Q. Fletcher (Grad ’96) has published a new book, Notes from Underground 2.0, a modern reworking of the major themes of social alienation and individual freedom found in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s groundbreaking novella. The plot only loosely corresponds to that of the original Notes from Underground, although Dostoevsky’s structure and other formal and thematic elements are echoed. Mr. Fletcher is also the author of the novel,The Disciple of Beauty: A Philosopher’s Tale of Love, Tragedy, and Transcendence, which Literary Fiction Book Review proclaimed “a whirlwind immersion in all the great works of literature that devote themselves to the fundamental questions; it is a philosophical rumination on love and life and surviving them both; it is a witty and ofttimes humorous exploration of the human condition.”

Deborah Sheetenhelm Hammond (Arch ’82 L/M) announces the release of her thirteenth novel, Monocacy Crossing; a contemporary novel with settings in Frederick, Maryland and the Northern Neck of Virginia. Captain Daniel Wexford, a Confederate soldier crosses over at a re-enactment of the Battle of the Monocacy to complete his journey to return home to his lifelong love, Rebecca Bradford. A contemporary member of his family, Dr. Nicholas Wexford, is a witness to the crossing along with Frederick native Dr. Nora Easterley. Two UVA graduates, they use this other worldly event to turn their own lives upside down. Monocacy Crossing is available in paperback and kindle on Amazon.com.

Julian Hayter (Grad ’05, ’10) published his first book, The Dream Is Lost: Voting Rights and the Politics of Race in Richmond, Virginia.

Kelly Lenox (Col ’83 L/M) has published her debut poetry collection, “The Brightest Rock.” Released by Word Tech Editions, the book may be ordered through any bookstore. Signed copies are available from www.kellylenox.com. Kelly is the Editor in Chief of the Environmental Factor, from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park, NC.