English instructor and young adult author fights for teen literacy

Tiffany Trent, an English instructor at Virginia Tech, has been chosen as one of 31 teen authors in the nation to promote teen literacy this month. In addition, independent booksellers have nominated Trent’s first book, In the Serpent's Coils, as a BookSense Pick for Autumn.

Trent’s book is the first in a new young adult dark fantasy series called Hallowmere.

“The book is set in Reconstruction-era Virginia,” said Trent, “and follows 15-year old orphan Corrine Jameson as she is thrust both into a new school and a terrible battle between mortals and the supernatural.”

According to David Farland, a New York Times Bestselling fantasy author, “In the Serpent's Coils is a rich, earthy, engrossing novel that heralds Tiffany Trent as one of the best dark fantasy writers of our time. I was completely mesmerized by her tale, and deeply gratified in the end. Bravo!”

Competition for teens' attention is fierce between IM, TIVO, and HALO. So teen literature is biting back in October with a fun, innovative program entitled 31 Flavorite Authors for Teens.

Trent was the featured author for a Teen Read Week event on Oct. 16, when she addressed over 200 children at Washington Middle School in Seattle.

In addition, Trent was also a featured author in a live chat with the Readergirlz Myspace forum, an innovative and rare opportunity for teen readers to chat with some of the best young adult authors of today. To promote teen literacy and gutsiness in girls, readergirlz features a different YA novel and corresponding community service project every month.

There will be an opportunity for local teens in the New River Valley to meet Trent at a book launch party at the Easy Chair bookstore/cafe on Saturday, Oct. 27 from 3 to 5 p.m.

Trent received her master’s degree in English in 1997 from Virginia Tech and Master of Fine Arts degree in nonfiction writing and master’s degree in environmental studies from the University of Montana in 1999 and 2002, respectively. In 2002, she was awarded the Goldfarb Fellowship in Nonfiction to the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts for the draft manuscript of her conservation memoir, Smashing the Tiger. She has been published in Orion, Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and the Environment (ISLE), Mid-American Review, Sulphur River Literary Review, and Appalachian Voice.