Ex-Roanoke Times reporter returns to town, virtually, for Book & Author event

Article published on The Roanoke Times

Team coverage of a Southwest Virginia coal strike put The Roanoke Times on the list of Pulitzer Prize finalists in 1990. Chip Jones, who was part of that team, is still writing and still receiving recognition.

Jones is one of three authors who will participate on Tuesday in the Book & Author Dinner. The event, typically held at the Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center, will happen virtually, via bookandauthordinner.com. Authors Mari Julienne and James Chandler will join Jones on the panel, with WDBJ (Channel 7) anchor Robin Reed moderating.

Jones, who had left the newspaper by the time he and other Times reporters received the Pulitzer nomination for covering United Mine Workers’ Pittston Coal Group strike, recently won the Library of Virginia’s 1st Place Award for Nonfiction, for “The Organ Thieves: The Shocking Story of the First Heart Transplant in the Segregated South.”

Proceeds from the event will benefit two local organizations: Health and Focus of Southwest Virginia and the Roanoke Speech and Hearing Center.

“I was really honored to be asked to come down for this,” Jones said. “Since I had two children born at Roanoke Community Hospital, the fact that it’s an online event that’s raising money for various health related programs in the Roanoke Valley feels kind of like a homecoming.”

“The Organ Thieves” examines the intersection between racism and the medical industry in 1960s America.

“I’m always on the lookout for that story that has not been told yet, and I read about the first heart transplant in Richmond knowing absolutely nothing about it,” Jones said. “You might call it forgotten history, but at the time this subject was written about in the papers. As a reporter there’s often things that have been written about before, but if you take another look at it, there are a lot of missing pieces to the puzzle.”

Jones, who left Roanoke to work at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, still lives in the Richmond area. His three previous books, all of which focused on military issues, include “Boys of ‘67: From Vietnam to Iraq, the Extraordinary Story of a Few Good Men.” He first learned of the story that inspired “The Organ Thieves” while working at communications director of the Richmond Academy of Medicine, according to his website biography.

Julienne’s “The Campaign for Woman Suffrage in Virginia’’ deals with the staunch traditional values stood that stood in the way of would-be women voters. Chandler will discuss work including his Amazon Kindle best-selling legal thriller, “False Evidence,” the third installment of his Sam Johnstone series.

“The Library of Virginia’s annual Literary Awards program provides a special opportunity to honor and thank the many talented authors who live in Virginia or who write about its past and future,” Librarian of Virginia Sandra G. Treadway said. “Their work inspires and informs readers around the world, and it is a delight to highlight and celebrate their amazing work.”

Each author will speak for about 15 minutes then answer audience questions through a chat feature at the event’s website.