Tucked away in Amherst County, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA) has been quietly incubating celebrated literary voices since 1971, offering writers, visual artists, and composers uninterrupted time and space to create. Fellows like Alice McDermott and Beth Macy have gone on to win Pulitzers, National Book Awards, and MacArthur Genius Grants. “This reflects the full range of artists VCCA supports—a healthy mix of emerging and established artists working across genres and disciplines,” says Kim Doty, VCCA’s director of communication. At this 400-acre bucolic retreat in the Blue Ridge foothills—with private artist studios, a residence hall, and meals—writers find not just solitude, but a community of serious artists and creative freedom. VCCA.com
Here are some of the remarkable authors who had VCCA residencies:
Beth Macy
VCCA Residencies: 1993, 1998, 2012, 2017, 2021
- New York Times bestselling author
- 2018 Los Angeles Times Book Prize winner
- Dopesick adapted into a Peabody and Emmy-winning Hulu series
Margot Lee Shetterly
VCCA Residencies: 2023, 2025
- Author of Hidden Figures—#1 New York Times Bestseller; film adaptation nominated for three Academy Awards
- 2017 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work, Nonfiction
Meg Medina
VCCA Residency: 2023
- 2019 John Newbery Medal winner
- 2023–2024 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature
- New York Times bestselling author
Alice McDermott
VCCA Residencies: 1995, 1997, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008
- 1998 National Book Award for fiction (Charming Billy)
- Three-time Pulitzer Prize finalist
- Recipient of the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award of Merit
Jocelyn Nicole Johnson
VCCA Residencies: 2018, 2021, 2023, 2025
- 2022 Library of Virginia Literary Award for fiction
- My Monticello acquired by Netflix
Jon Pineda
VCCA Residencies: 2021, 2022
- 2016 Library of Virginia Literary Award for poetry
- 2019 Library of Virginia Literary Award for fiction
Deborah A. Miranda
VCCA Residencies: 2011, 2014
- 2014 Independent Publisher Book Award, Gold Medal for Autobiography/Memoir
- 2015 PEN-Oakland Josephine Miles Literary Award
Sadeqa Johnson
VCCA Residency: 2023
- Phillis Wheatley Award
- National Book Club Award
Claudia Emerson (1957–2014)
VCCA Residencies: 2009, 2010
- 2006 Pulitzer Prize for poetry
- former Poet Laureate of Virginia
John Casey (1939–2025)
VCCA Residency: 1988
- 1989 National Book Award
Kelly Cherry (1940–2022)
VCCA Residencies: 1978, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 2003, 2004, 2005
- former Poet Laureate of Virginia
Featured photo courtesy of VCCA. This article originally appeared in the May 2026 issue.
