Virginia Evans’ debut novel The Correspondent is a New York Times bestseller that has sold in more than 25 countries. The book was recently named winner of the 2026 PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel. Raised on the east coast of the United States, she attended James Madison University for her bachelor’s in English literature, as well as Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, for her masters of philosophy in creative writing. She lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with her husband, two children, and her Red Labrador, Brigid. Virginia spoke at The Community Library in a free event on July 21 as part of the Community Speaker Series, a partnership program created by the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference and The Community Library.