SHEPHERDSTOWN -- Shepherd University Center for Appalachian Studies Director Benjamin Bankhurst handed a plaque to author Annette Clapsaddle, proclaiming her this year's recipient of the Appalachian Heritage Writer’s Award, on the stage of the Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History & Education on Sept. 25.

For Clapsaddle, the award and her platform as the 2025 Appalachian Heritage Writer-in-Residence presented an opportunity for her to share a realistic insight into the lives and culture of indigenous people. Her debut novel, "Even As We Breathe," for which she was selected for the residency and award, details the life of a Cherokee teenager, as he seeks out better career opportunities than could be found on his reservation, by going to work around the time of World War II at the

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