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Bluefield native Denise Giardina grew up in a coal company town, and her Appalachian roots deeply influence her writing. Her novels Storming Heaven and The Unquiet Earth highlight the struggles of coal miners and earned major literary awards.
Starting with historical fiction in Good King Harry, Giardina later explored themes like resistance in Nazi Germany (Saints and Villains), time travel (Fallam’s Secret), and the Brontë sisters (Emily’s Ghost).
An ordained Episcopal deacon, she’s also a dedicated activist for labor and environmental issues. In 2000, she ran for governor of West Virginia as a Mountain Party candidate, advocating against mountaintop removal mining.
