Virginia Writers, Journalists and Artists

Writers, journalists and artists from Virginia include Pulitzer Prize winners, poet laureates, and sculptors of larger-than-life figures.

» Russell Baker (1925- ) Loudoun County; political columnist, Pulitzer Prize winner (1979, 1983)
» William Cabell Bruce (1860-1946) Staunton Hill; historian; Pulitzer Prize winner (1918)
» David Baldacci (1960) Richmond; Novelist, crime and mystery
» William Byrd II (1674-1744) Westover; chronicler of early colonial life
» James Branch Cabell (1879-1958) Richmond; fiction writer in 1900s
» Willa Cather (1873-1947) Back Creek Valley; novelist, early 1900s, Pulitzer Prize winner (1923)
» Patricia Cornwell (1956- ) Novelist, crime and mystery
» Virginius Dabney historian, newspaper editor; Pulitzer Prize winner (1948)
» Rita Dove (1951- ) Akron, Ohio (now teaches at UVA); U.S. Poet Laureat (1993-95); Pulitzer Prize winner (1987)
» John A. Elder painter of famous Civil War scenes
» Sir Moses Ezekiel (1844-1917) Richmond; sculptor; famous for Civil War subjects, knighted by the Emperor of Germany and King of Italy
» Douglas Southall Freeman (1886-1953) Lynchburg; historian, newspaper editor, one the America's greatest biographers, Pulitzer Prize winner (1935, 1958)
» Ellen Glasgow (1873-1945) Richmond; fiction writer in early 1900s, Pulitzer Prize winner (1942); Burial: Hollywood Cemetery
» Earl Hamner Jr. (1923- ) Schuyler; novelist, creator of "The Waltons" televison series
» James J. Kilpatrick (1920- ) Richmond newspaper columnist on politics and the English language
» David J. Mays historian, Pulitzer Prize winner (1953)
» Sharyn McCrumb (1944- ) historical novelist best known for her Appalachian "Ballad" novels
» Charles McDowell newspaper columnist
» Gari Melchers (1860-1932) Detroit, MI (died in VA); painter, sculptor; Member of the Virginia Arts Commission
» Thomas Nelson Page (1853-1922) fiction writer of the 1800s
» Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) Boston, MA; famous writer of novels, poetry, short stories
» Tom Robbins (1936- ) Blowing Rock, NC (moved to VA in 40’s); novelist
» Ann Spencer (1882-1976) African-American poet
» William Stith (1707-1755) England; colonial historian- “History of the First Discovery and Settlement of Virginia”
» William Styron (1925- ) Newport News; novelist; Pulitzer Prize winner (1968) "Confessions of Nat Turner"
» Edward V. Valentine sculptor; famous for statues honoring prominent Virginians. Robert E. Lee sculpture by Valentine can be seen in the United States Capitol. Jefferson Davis statue by Valentine can be seen on Monument Avenue
» Tom Wolfe (1931- ) Richmond; novelist – "Bonfire of the Vanities"; non-fiction - "The Right Stuff "

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