Kevin McIlvoy in Virtual Conversation with Scott Gould | One Kind Favor

We are excited to host a virtual conversation with Kevin McIlvoy and Scott Gould on Thursday, June 3rd, at 7PM! Of his seven other published books, Kevin McIlvoy considers his new novel, One Kind Favor, to be one of his most important works. Joining him in conversation will be award-winning author of Things that Crash, Things that Fly, Scott Gould!

Register Here

One Kind Favor

by Kevin McIlvoy

• • •

Based loosely on a tragic real-life incident in 2014, One Kind Favor explores the consequences of the lynching of a young black man in rural North Carolina.  After the lynching of Lincoln Lennox is discovered and subsequently covered up in the small fictional community of Cord, North Carolina, the ghosts who frequent the all-in-one bar and consignment  shop take on the responsibility  of unearthing the truth and acting as the memory for the town that longs to forget and continues to hate. A reimagined Kathy Acker, the groundbreaking literary icon, engages Lincoln in a love triangle and brings a transgressive post-punk esthetic to the mission. The down-the-rabbit-hole satirical storytelling of One Kind Favor, Kevin McIlvoy’s sixth novel, echoes Appalachian ghost stories in which haunting presences will, at last, have their way.

“In One Kind Favor, Kevin McIlvoy crafts a novel we haven’t seen before: a rare book about race and place that offers a nuanced take on the world we live in. The concerns are universal, including what it means to witness trauma in our increasingly divided world. The music is uncompromising—you are drawn into the strikingly beautiful, taut, and relentless prose. The novel’s s hugeness of heart and fierceness will keep you reading. This book feels vital for our times.”—Nina McConigley, author of Cowboys and East Indians, Winner of the PEN Open Book Award

“Kevin McIlvoy bravely sets forth a suspenseful story that tackles racial violence, police indifference, and the cost of justice in contemporary American South. This is an important novel I look forward to impacting readers far and wide.”—Devi Laskar, author of The Atlas of Reds and Blues, Winner of the Asian Pacific American Award in Literature

Kevin McIlvoy is the author of seven previous books: five novels, a book of short stories, and a book of prose poetry. A retired Regents Professor of Creative Writing from New Mexico State University, he teaches at the Warren Wilson College MFA Program in Creative Writing. His short fiction has appeared in Harper’s, Southern Review, Ploughshares, Missouri Review, and other literary magazines. He has been a manuscript consultant for University of Nevada Press, University of Arizona Press, University of New Mexico Press, Indiana State University Press, University of Missouri Press, Orison Books, and other publishers. He lives in Asheville, North Carolina.

Scott Gould's new memoir, Things That Crash, Things That Fly, was called an “extraordinary work” by author David Shields and “a delight to read” by the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Gould is also the author of the story collection, Strangers to Temptation, and the novel, Whereabouts. A new collection of stories, Idiot Men, is forthcoming from Springer Mountain Press in late summer, 2021; and a new novel, The Hammerhead Chronicles, is set for publication in February 2022 by the University of North Georgia Press. Gould lives in Sans Souci, South Carolina and teaches at the S.C. Governor’s School for the Arts & Humanities.