William S. Powell Shares His Landmark Publication,
Encyclopedia of North Carolina
On UNC-TV’s North Carolina Bookwatch, Friday, November 16, at 9:30 PM

The first single-volume reference to the events, institutions, and cultural forces that have defined the state, the Encyclopedia of North Carolina is a landmark publication that serves all those who love and live in North Carolina for generations to come.  Editor William S. Powell, whom the Raleigh News & Observer described as a "living repository of information on all things North Carolinian," spent fifteen years developing this volume.

In the season finale of UNC-TV’s local literary series North Carolina Bookwatch with D.G. Martin, premiering Friday, November 16, at 9:30 PM, Powell shares the many contributions by more than 550 volunteer writers—including scholars, librarians, journalists, and many others—who aided in creating what is considered to be the true "people's encyclopedia" of North Carolina.

Powell is widely considered the "dean" of North Carolina historians. Born in 1919 in Johnston County and raised in Statesville, Powell has written or edited numerous volumes of state and local history. Powell's most important contributions are reference works that have long been regarded as foundations for North Carolina history and as models for similar works in other states. The library catalog at UNC-Chapel Hill lists some 112 books and articles by Powell. For his accomplishments, he was honored with the North Carolina Award for Literature in 2000.

Don’t miss DG Martin’s all-new interview with William Powell on North Carolina Bookwatch, Friday, November 16, at 9:30 PM, with an encore episode airing Sunday, November 18, at 5 PM.

During the 20-week, 10th anniversary season of North Carolina Bookwatch, guests also include: J. Peder Zane (The Top Ten), Gov. Michael Easley (Look Out, College, Here I Come!), Michele Bowen (Holy Ghost Corner), Neal Thompson (Driving With the Devil), Joseph Bathanti (Coventry), Joanna Catherine Scott (The Road From Chapel Hill), James Dodson (Beautiful Madness), Dan Heath (Made To Stick), Margaret Maron (Hard Row), James Peacock (Grounded Globalism: How the U.S. South Embraces the World), Tim Madigan (I’m Proud of You), Melton McLaurin (The Marines of Montford Point), Kathryn Stripling Byer (Coming to Rest),  David Guy (Jake Fades), Georgann Eubanks (Literary Trails of the North Carolina Mountains), Zelda Lockhart (Cold Running Creek), Mike Lassiter (Our Vanishing Americana: A North Carolina Portrait), Joe and Terry Graedon (Best Choices From The Peoples Pharmacy), and Fred Hobson (Off the Rim: Basketball and Other Religions in a Carolina Childhood).

For additional information about series guests and airdates, plus links to the Bookwatch blog and online book club, please visit: www.unctv.org/ncbookwatch.

Funding for North Carolina Bookwatch is provided by UNC-TV members and by Quail Ridge Books and Music, Raleigh’s independent, full service bookstore, bringing readers and writers together since 1984.

North Carolina Bookwatch is part of UNC-TV’s ongoing commitment to produce programs for and about North Carolina. UNC-TV is the statewide 11-station broadcast network of the University of North Carolina. For more information, please visit www.unctv.org/ncbookwatch.

For more information about North Carolina Bookwatch and UNC-TV’s other original productions, please visit our website at www.unctv.org.

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