Chapters hosts book signing with Patti Frye Meredith

Galax native Patti Frye Meredith will sign copies of her novel “South of Heaven” beginning 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 13, during Galax’s annual Old Fiddlers’ Convention.

Meredith grew up in Galax. Most of her stories are set in the Blue Ridge Mountains, but her debut novel, South of Heaven, takes place in the North Carolina Sandhills where her family’s roots run deep.

“The Carthage in South of Heaven is a place formed from the hazy childhood memories I have of visiting my grandmothers. If you know the real Carthage, I apologize for misplaced landmarks and fictitious churches!”

After graduating from Virginia Tech with a degree in horticulture, she pursued a career in television production and worked for many years at UNC-TV on the long running program, North Carolina People with William Friday.

“Mr. Friday loved talking with writers, and listening to his conversations with Lee Smith, Doris Betts, Reynolds Price, and others inspired me to want to find my own stories in the scribbled stops and starts I kept in ratty notebooks,” Meredith said.

Meredith holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Memphis. Her stories have appeared in Appalachian Heritage, Still: The Journal, and Mulberry Fork Review.

She has lived in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, and Louisiana. Meredith, her husband, Lee, and their Springer Spaniel, Maggie, are now settled in Chapel Hill.

For more information about Meredith, visit her website.

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