This Issue George Brosi We are proud to introduce readers of this issue to our featured author, C. E. Morgan, a young writer whose first novel, All The Living, has attracted a lot of national attention. She is one of two finalists for the PEN/Hemingway First Fiction Book Award. She is one of three finalists for the Barnes + Noble Discover Award in fiction. The National Book Awards named her one of their "5 under 35" promising new authors. Furthermore, she is the 2009 recipient of the Weatherford Award presented by the Appalachian Studies Association and Berea College for the outstanding fiction work of the year illuminating the Southern Appalachian Region and a finalist for New York Public Library's Young Lions Award. We are pleased to offer the first and presently only available literary criticism on C. E. Morgan in the form of both an article by a critic of the stature of Richard Wallach and a penetrating interview between Morgan and Thomas Fabisiak. Morgan mentioned to us that she was especially impressed with the photographic artistry of Builder Levy, so we are happy that he agreed to be our featured artist for this issue. He has made a great contribution recording regional life ever since his dramatic images helped build support for the Brookside Strike in 1973. The other writer besides C. E. Morgan honored as one of the "5 under 35" who has ties to this region—Josh Weil—has fiction in this issue, as does Robert J. Conley, the featured author of our special Cherokee issue, Fall 2009. What a fabulous line-up of poets we have for you in this issue. Ron Rash, Darnell Arnoult, Robert Morgan, and Silas House have all been previous featured authors for this magazine. Wendell Berry, Savannah Sipple, Maurice Manning, and Frank X Walker have also appeared in earlier issues. We are proud that they are joined here by two emerging poets new to this magazine, Joe Montgomery and Henry M. Spottswood. Our two essays are delightful but very different. This is the first piece of regional writing Renea Winchester has published. On the other hand, Rodger Cunningham has been a major player in regional scholarship and writing for decades. His essay on regional magic and religion is particularly appropriate in an issue that features an author with a Harvard Divinity School degree. [End Page 8] Copyright © 2010 Berea College