WEST LIBERTY, WV – West Liberty University welcomed Pulitzer Prize winner Jayne Anne Phillips for the Hughes Lecture series on March 27th , 2025. The event took place at the Kelly Theater at 4 p.m., where Phillips’ discussed the making of her latest novel “Night Watch,” with both a Q&A and book sale signings.
The Hughes Lecture series is named after Dr. Raymond Grove Hughes and began back in the 1970’s. The series is made possible due to Dr. Hughes’ endowment, and the money is used to bring guest speakers to campus every year.
The duties were once with retired English professor Dr. Peter Staffle, but they were handed to Professor of English and Threshold Advisor Dr. Scott Hanna ten years ago.
“Each year, we try to bring a prominent and topical speaker to campus…usually someone who connects with our region in some way,” said Hanna.
Phillips read the beginning of her novel “Night Watch,” a story set in West Virginia about a mother and daughter seeking refuge after the Civil War. She then shared a presentation of research images from the novel.
West Virginia Poet Laureate Marc Harshman introduced Phillips while he and the audience members asked her questions about her novel and her life as an author and West Virginia native. After the Q&A, the audience members were allowed to go to the Nutting Gallery for the book signing and refreshments.
If you do not have “Night Watch,” or want another one of Phillips’ books, the Barnes & Noble College Bookstore sold copies during the event for audience members to buy.
Sigma Tau Delta, a recently reinstated English honor society, held a book club for Phillip’s “Night Watch.” Students in the book club met on Tuesdays at 8:30 a.m. to discuss their favorite parts of the novel.
Sigma Tau Delta Book Club also held a one-on-one session with the English students and Phillips to ask her questions they had about the novel, along with questions about being an author.
This was the first time the Hughes lecture held a Book club series for a guest speaker’s novel, and they found it brought more student engagement to the event.
“We strive to bring relevant and engaging speakers to campus, and the series was created to be a service to the students,” said Hanna. “This year’s book club created by the students of Sigma Tau Delta was a great step in that direction, and I hope we can continue to grow the lecture series that way and through more student attendance.”
Thank you again to Jayne Anne Phillips for visiting West Liberty University to give us more insight on “Night Watch.” Be on the look out for next year’s Hughes Lecture series!
