The West Virginia University Humanities Center is proud to host Emily Matchar, author of "In the Shadow of the Greenbrier," a multigenerational Jewish family saga set around the iconic West Virginia hotel, the Greenbrier. Join the Humanities Center on September 9 at 7 p.m. in 202 of Brooks Hall in Morgantown, West Virgina for “In the Shadow of the Greenbrier: A Gripping Novel and the Secret History of West Virginia's Iconic Resort.”
The evening will be an opportunity to learn more about a relatively unknown chapter of West Virginia history and meet the author as she discusses her debut novel.
A deeply poignant exploration of trauma, legacy, and the stories we tell to survive, "In the Shadow of the Greenbrier" is inspired by the remarkable yet little-known true events that shaped West Virginia history and follows four generations of one Jewish American family in the inevitable clash between legacy and individualism.
Join the Humanities Center for refreshments at 7 p.m. The lecture will begin promptly at 7:30 p.m. This event is free and open to the public.
No registration is required, but is encouraged for planning purposes.
Matchar is a writer and author originally from North Carolina and currently lives in Indiana. Her debut novel, “In the Shadow of the Greenbrier,” was published by Putnam at Penguin Random House in 2024 and is expecting to release a second novel soon. As a journalist, she's written for the New York Times, the Washington Post, Outside, Smithsonian, the Atlantic, the Atavist, and many others.
Matchar will be joined by Benyamin Cohen, senior writer for the Forward and Harvey Solomon, author of "Such Splendid Prisons: Diplomatic Detainment in America During World War II," to talk about the history of this WWII chapter of the Greenbrier Hotel.
Cohen was the founding editor of both Jewsweek and American Jewish Life magazine. He is the author of “The Einstein Effect: How the World's Favorite Genius Got into Our Cars, Our Bathrooms, and Our Minds” and “My Jesus Year: A Rabbi's Son Wanders the Bible Belt in Search of His Own Faith,” which was named one of the best books of the year by Publishers Weekly and for which he received the Georgia Author of the Year award.
Solomon is freelance writer based in Washington, D.C. Solomon has written a half dozen non-fiction books and hundreds of articles for trade and consumer publications including Adweek, The Boston Globe, China Daily, Editor & Publisher, Emmy, The Hollywood Reporter, the Los Angeles Times, Reel Screen, Smithsonian, and Variety.
This programming is made possible thanks to the Pi Lambda Phi Jewish Studies Endowed Lectureship.