Lyn Fairchild Hawks presents MINERDA & @NERVESOFSTEEL with Robin Follet and Greg Hawks | Chapel Hill

Thursday, April 27, 2023 – Signing Line at 5:30 pm, Talk begins at 6:00 pm

Lyn Fairchild Hawks’ second young adult novel, @nervesofsteel, takes us back to the Wild West of Twitter in 2013, when Minerva Mae, first ninth grader on her school paper, is ready to be the next Christiane Amanpour and ready to take down misogynistic trolls. The biggest troll of all is Chaz, the hottest guy in school and basketball phenom, and he’s doing a full-court press to grab Minerva’s best friend, Diana. Diana wants to fit in, and the whole school seems all in with Chaz and his Hot or Not tournament. When Minerva investigates hazing allegations and tracks tweets to the scene, she finds Diana on the fast track to his despicable “Final Four”—a game of no consent. Should @nervesofsteel fight back with reporting like the NYT or like TMZ? Maybe it’s time for vigilante journo justice for a girl who’s feeling like a lot more than a friend.

In Minerda, prequel to @nervesofsteel, Lyn Fairchild Hawks and illustrator Robin Follet join forces to tell of Minerva’s early days in elementary and middle school as a gifted, weird, wise girl who doesn’t fit. It’s a familiar tale of bullying with some uncommon twists: fables gone awry, Mean Girls who are mythically nasty, and a sweet newcomer, Diana, oblivious to cliques and ready to save the day.
Chapel Hill resident Lyn Fairchild Hawks has authored eight books, including the prequel to @nerveofsteel: Minerda, a graphic novella with illustrator Robin Follet. Her debut YA, How Wendy Redbird Dancing Survived the Dark Ages of Nought, was a James Jones First Novel Fellowship semifinalist. Lyn is the 2021 winner of the Norma Fox Mazer Award from Vermont College of Fine Arts’ program in Writing for Children and Young Adults and author of the thesis, “Is YA Literary? The Search for an Abundant Canon,” arguing for young adult literature to be considered literary. A recipient of an Elizabeth George Foundation grant and a former student of Doris Betts, Lyn helps teens find their storytelling superpowers with her essay and creative writing coaching.

Cary resident Robin Follet is an illustrator who loves to see how language combines with images, whether with long-form webcomics such as Last Taxi—Charon has updated his mode of travel—or single-panel gags. Greek myths plus his two dogs and cat make for myriad inspirations. An educator for more than twenty-five years, Robin is also coauthor of Teaching Romeo and Juliet: A Differentiated Approach with Delia DeCourcy and Lyn Fairchild Hawks.

North Carolina native Greg Hawks is a critically-acclaimed singer-songwriter, frontman, and multi-instrumentalist, leaving his mark on everything from alt-country (Fool’s Paradise, Yep Roc) to bluegrass (What’s Your Hurry, Sweet & Salty). His four albums cast a wide net, especially I Think It’s Time and What Goes Around, inspired by the twang of classic country, the hooks of 1970s pop/rock, the rhythmic soul of old-school Stax records, and Hawks’ own roots in Mount Airy. With influences that veer from Big Star to Buck Owens, Greg is an enduring, eclectic musician making Americana music long before the genre had a name.