More about me, Hillbilly Odyssey,
and where I’ll be.
My Story-Cecil Willis discussing his memoir Hillbilly Odyssey: Resilience in a Small Mountain Mill Town, September 11, 2025, 7-8 pm, West Asheville Public Library and Zoom. Sponsored by Wilma Dykeman Legacy.
Reading and signing at City Lights Bookstore, Sylva, NC Saturday, August 16, 2025, 3-4 pm.
An Evening with Western NC Mountain Writers featuring C. L. Willis, Julia Nunnally Duncan, Les Brown, and Joyce Brown. St. John’s Episcopal Church, Marion, NC. Saturday, October 4, 2025 4-6 pm.
Reading and signing at Blue Ridge Books, Waynesville, NC, Saturday May 25, 2024, 1-3 pm.
Mountain Memoirs, C L Willis in conversation with Jo Ann Croom, Saturday July 20, 2024, 2:00 pm, Blue Moon Books, Canton, NC.
WPTL Radio Interview with John Anderson, 9:00 am Tuesday July 30, 2024, Canton, NC
Recipient of the North Carolina Society of Historian History Book Award of Excellence, November 9, 2024.
Graceful Geese Mercantile Book Event, 220 US Hwy 70 SE 179, Hickory, NC November 23, 2024.
RedHawk Book Fair, Catawba County Library, Newton, NC, December 14, 2024
Hickory Literary Festival, SALT Block, Hickory , NC, April 12, 2025, 1-4 pm.
Podcast interview for RedPubPod with Richard Eller, Robert Canipe, and Patty Thompson of Redhawk Publications.
Book Review in North Carolina Literary Review, “Timely Portrayals of a Place,” by Elaine Thomas, October 2024. Thomas-Joy-Willis-review.pdf
A recommended “Local Reads” along with books by Nina Simone, Ron Rash, Ashley English, and Frances Figart in the WNC Magazine Winter 2025 Local Gift Guide.