Book co-authored by Roanoke College professor nominated for state honor
June 24, 2024
Category: Faculty
A powerful account of life on death row co-authored by a Roanoke College professor is now a finalist for a statewide award.
“Crossing the River Styx,” published last spring by University of Virginia Press, has been nominated for a People’s Choice Award in the Library of Virginia’s annual honors celebrating favorite works by Virginia writers.
CAST YOUR VOTE NOW: 2024 People's Choice Awards Voting
The book, co-authored by Henry H. & Trudye H. Fowler Professor in Public Affairs Todd Peppers, offers a firsthand account of the inner workings of Virginia’s death row as witnessed by the Rev. Russ Ford, a prison chaplain for more than a decade.
Ford stood watch with 28 condemned men during their final hours. His moving and nuanced reflections on the souls that he ministered to offer a unique window into the practice of capital punishment, which was used in Virginia until 2021 and which continues to be employed in 27 other states.
Peppers, along with his oldest child, Charles Peppers, worked with Ford on the writing of the memoir. It’s one of three books that Peppers has co-authored on the often-shrouded world of the death penalty.
The People’s Choice Award will be decided by votes cast by the public. Online voting is open until July 31. “Crossing the River Styx” is nominated in the non-fiction category.
One vote is allowed for every valid email address used to participate.
CAST YOUR VOTE NOW: 2024 People's Choice Awards Voting
“Crossing the River Styx” is one of seven finalists for the honor. The winners will be announced at the annual Virginia Literary Awards in the fall. Past recipients of the People’s Choice Award include Pulitzer Prize winner Barbara Kingsolver (fiction category) and Associated Press foreign correspondent Jonathan Myerson Katz (non-fiction category).
