NewSouth author Mark Ethridge recently visited Virginia Commonwealth University as a guest lecturer during the school’s annual Mass Communications Week. Ethridge delivered the Turpin Lecture on Wednesday, October 9, where he talked about journalism and about his novel, Grievances. Students and faculty heard Mark describe how he wanted to create a novel that provided a behind-the-scenes look at the newspaper industry. Mark also talked about the state of print journalism and how he incorporated those ideas into his novel.Â
In a VCU article, Judy VanSlyke Turk, Director of the School of Mass Communications at VCU, described Mark as a “perfect choice because of his connection to Richmond and professor Turpin.” The annual Turpin Lecture is named in honor of former professor Bill Turpin and, according to Turk, is designed to bring in speakers who are “successful media managers.”
Read VCU’s entire article about Mark’s visit, as well as a report from their Reporting 101 class.
Mark has been the president of Carolina Parenting, Inc. since 1990, and is also the former editor of The Charlotte Observer. He directed The Charlotte Observer’s Pulitzer Prize-winning investigations of the textile industry and the PTL scandal involving Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker. Mark studied as a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University and was named a member of Esquire magazine’s inaugural class of “People Under 40 Who Are Changing America.” His work has appeared in newspapers and magazines nationwide.
Grievances tells of journalist Matt Harper’s efforts to reveal the truth behind the twenty-year-old unsolved Civil Rights murder of a thirteen-year-old African-American boy. Grievances is a suspense-filled story of newspapers, murder, and of redemption–for a small Southern town and for Matt Harper. Transcendent, the feature film subsidiary of Film House, recently optioned Grievances for a feature film, and Ethridge is currently working with the company on adapting the screenplay.
Grievances is available from NewSouth Books, Amazon.com, or your favorite local or online book retailer.