Press Kit
Nora Shalaway Carpenter is represented by Victoria Wells Arms of Wells Arms Literary, in association with HG Literary.
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Longer bio:
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 the 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.
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 the 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.
Shorter bio:
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 YA Fiction, the 2024 Nautilus Book Award Gold Medal for YA, and a 2024 Whippoorwill Book Award Honor. Her books have made numerous prestigious lists, including "Best of the Year" by NPR, Kirkus Reviews, Bank Street Books, the Texas Library Association TAYSHAS state reading list, and the Library of Congress's Discover Great Places Through Reading list. Her works have won accolades including the Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, the Whippoorwill Award for authentic rural fiction, and the Nautilus Award championing "better books for a better world." She holds an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts and serves as faculty for the Highlights Foundation's Whole Novel Workshop. A neurodivergent author with an invisible disability, she champions busting stereotypes of all kinds. Visit her at noracarpenterwrites.com and find her on Substack @norashalawaycarpenter
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 YA Fiction, the 2024 Nautilus Book Award Gold Medal for YA, and a 2024 Whippoorwill Book Award Honor. Her books have made numerous prestigious lists, including "Best of the Year" by NPR, Kirkus Reviews, Bank Street Books, the Texas Library Association TAYSHAS state reading list, and the Library of Congress's Discover Great Places Through Reading list. Her works have won accolades including the Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, the Whippoorwill Award for authentic rural fiction, and the Nautilus Award championing "better books for a better world." She holds an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts and serves as faculty for the Highlights Foundation's Whole Novel Workshop. A neurodivergent author with an invisible disability, she champions busting stereotypes of all kinds. Visit her at noracarpenterwrites.com and find her on Substack @norashalawaycarpenter