photo cred: Chip Bryan
How to Pronounce My Name
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Welcome.Hi. I'm Nora, lover of all things wild. I write fiction and nonfiction for both teens and adults (and occasionally picture book readers, too).
Growing up in the forests of West Virginia, place and nature became--and remain--as much a part of me as my bones, so characters' relationships to their environments play a pivotal role in all my creative work. With my writing, I aim to provide riveting stories while also provoking deep and critical thought. As an anthologist, I prefer to curate stories centered around social justice concerns, i.e. human concerns, with the specific goals of highlighting diverse viewpoints and introducing new, emerging voices alongside established, award-winning authors. I am particularly passionate about normalizing mental health and bringing stories of Appalachian and rural joy into the world. Another fun fact: I'm a neurodivergent author with an invisible disability. Like many people with neurodivergent brains, I'm masterful at masking. As a kid, I had no idea my brain was wired differently, but looking back, it totally makes sense! I'm an academic at heart, so I love to nerd out about research. I present at numerous conferences every year. |
Looking for a Bio?
You'll find bios of various lengths and different photo options under the Press Kit tab. My most recent bio is below.
Nora Shalaway Carpenter is an award-winning author, writing educator, and audiobook
narrator. Her newest novel Fault Lines won the 2024 Green Earth Book Award for Young
Adult Fiction, a 2024 Whippoorwill Honor for exemplary rural fiction, and was named to the
prestigious Texas Library Association TAYSHAS State Reading List. Her novel The Edge of
Anything was named a Best Book of the Year by Kirkus Reviews and Bank Street, and was
North Carolina Humanities' selection for the Library of Congress's Discover Great Places
Through Reading list. Her critically acclaimed anthology RURAL VOICES: 15 Authors Challenge Assumptions About Small-Town America was named an NPR Best Book of the Year, and her fiction has been written about in both the New York Times and People. Other accolades for her work include the Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, the Children's Book Council Teacher and Librarian favorites lists, and the Nautilus Book Award Gold Medal for "better books for a better world."
Carpenter holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. A dynamic speaker, she has served as faculty for the Highlights Foundation's Whole Novel Workshop since 2021 and as of summer 2025, is new registrar of Kindling Words East. A neurodivergent author with an invisible disability, she is a passionate advocate for the normalization of mental health and the deconstruction of harmful stereotyping, particularly of rural people and places.
Originally from rural West Virginia, Carpenter now roams the mountains of western North Carolina with her husband, three children, and the world’s most patient dog and cat. She is a vocal and passionate advocate for the normalization of mental health and the deconstruction of harmful stereotyping, particularly of rural people and places. Visit her at noracarpenterwrites.com and find her on Substack @norashalawaycarpenter
narrator. Her newest novel Fault Lines won the 2024 Green Earth Book Award for Young
Adult Fiction, a 2024 Whippoorwill Honor for exemplary rural fiction, and was named to the
prestigious Texas Library Association TAYSHAS State Reading List. Her novel The Edge of
Anything was named a Best Book of the Year by Kirkus Reviews and Bank Street, and was
North Carolina Humanities' selection for the Library of Congress's Discover Great Places
Through Reading list. Her critically acclaimed anthology RURAL VOICES: 15 Authors Challenge Assumptions About Small-Town America was named an NPR Best Book of the Year, and her fiction has been written about in both the New York Times and People. Other accolades for her work include the Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, the Children's Book Council Teacher and Librarian favorites lists, and the Nautilus Book Award Gold Medal for "better books for a better world."
Carpenter holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. A dynamic speaker, she has served as faculty for the Highlights Foundation's Whole Novel Workshop since 2021 and as of summer 2025, is new registrar of Kindling Words East. A neurodivergent author with an invisible disability, she is a passionate advocate for the normalization of mental health and the deconstruction of harmful stereotyping, particularly of rural people and places.
Originally from rural West Virginia, Carpenter now roams the mountains of western North Carolina with her husband, three children, and the world’s most patient dog and cat. She is a vocal and passionate advocate for the normalization of mental health and the deconstruction of harmful stereotyping, particularly of rural people and places. Visit her at noracarpenterwrites.com and find her on Substack @norashalawaycarpenter
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