Deborah Parker to be honored as part of the 2025 Virginia Literary Awards

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA – The Library of Virginia and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts are pleased to announce that Deborah Parker has been chosen as this year’s recipient of the Art in Literature: The Mary Lynn Kotz Award for her book “Becoming Belle da Costa Greene: A Visionary Librarian Through Her Letters” (Villa I Tatti, Harvard University Press, 2024). Parker will be honored at a special reception at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts on Friday, Sept. 19 and during the 28th Annual Virginia Literary Awards Celebration at the Library on Saturday, Sept. 20. 

ART IN LITERATURE: THE MARY LYNN KOTZ AWARD
Art in Literature: The Mary Lynn Kotz Award recognizes an outstanding book that is written primarily in response to the world of art, while also showing the highest literary quality as a creative or scholarly work. This prestigious award is the first created for writing a book-length work about art in multiple categories: history, biography, fiction, poetry, journalism, art history, social history of art, museum catalogues, and young adult literature. The Art in Literature Award is named in honor of distinguished journalist Mary Lynn Kotz, author of “Rauschenberg: Art and Life” (Harry N. Abrams, 1990), and longtime contributing editor of ARTNews.

Previous recipients of this award, now in its 13th year, have included Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk; Virginia Poet Laureate Carolyn Kreiter-Foronda; Pulitzer Prize recipients Erin Kelly and Winfred Rembert (“Chasing Me to my Grave”); novelist Susan Vreeland (“Lisette's List”); historian Mary Gabriel (“Ninth Street Women”); and last year's recipient, Katy Hessel (“The Story of Art Without Men”).

DEBORAH PARKER: BECOMING BELLE DA COSTA GREENE
In this year’s winning book, “Becoming Belle da Costa Greene: A Visionary Librarian Through Her Letters,” author Deborah Parker chronicles the making and empowerment of a female connoisseur, curator and library director in a world where such positions were held by men. Belle da Costa Greene (1879–1950) was Pierpont Morgan’s personal librarian and the first director of the Morgan Library. She was also the daughter of two mixed-race parents and passed for white. 

In the nearly 600 letters that Greene sent to art historian Bernard Berenson, Parker identifies Greene’s energetic pursuit of exceptional opportunities, illuminating the artistry and imaginative features of Greene’s writing — her self-invention, her vibrant responses to books and art, and her pathbreaking work as a librarian. As Greene transformed a private library into a magnificent public institution, she also transformed herself: hers was a life both lived and writ large.

The author of this impressive work, Deborah Parker, is Professor of Italian Emerita at the University of Virginia. Her research expertise and teaching focus on Italian medieval and Renaissance visual and literary works. Her books include “Commentary and Ideology: Dante in the Renaissance” (1992), “Bronzino: Renaissance Painter as Poet” (2000) and “Michelangelo and the Art of Letter Writing” (2011). Her most recent book, “Becoming Belle da Costa Greene: A Visionary Librarian Through Her Letters” (2024), was published by Harvard University Press and Villa I Tatti: The Harvard Center for Italian Renaissance Studies. Parker co-authored “Belle Greene and Literature” for the Morgan Library & Museum exhibition catalog “Belle da Costa Greene: A Librarian’s Legacy.” She has given talks on Belle Greene for Villa I Tatti, the Rare Book School, the Book Club of California, Caxton Club, Yale University’s Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, St. Botolph Club and the Boston Athenaeum. Notices and podcasts about the book have appeared in Humanities Watch, Fine Books & Collections magazine and the New Books Network. Michael Dirda, columnist for the Washington Post’s Book World, listed it among his recommendations for holiday gift books, Harvard University Press listed it among its best books of 2024, and John McWhorter, opinion columnist for the New York Times, mentioned it in a column.

EVENT DETAILS

Friday, Sept. 19, 2025 | Art in Literature: The Mary Lynn Kotz Award 
In-person event: 6:00–8:00 p.m. | VMFA, 200 N. Arthur Ashe Blvd., Richmond, VA 23220
Tickets: lvafoundation.org/kotztickets

Art in Literature: The Mary Lynn Kotz Award, sponsored by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the Library of Virginia, recognizes an outstanding book published in the previous year that is written primarily in response to a work (or works) of art while also showing the highest literary quality as a creative or scholarly work. Author Deborah Parker will offer a presentation on this year’s winning book, “Becoming Belle da Costa Greene: A Visionary Librarian Through Her Letters.” A book signing and reception will follow the program. 

Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025 | 28th Annual Virginia Literary Awards Celebration 
In-person event: 6:00–9:30 p.m. | Library of Virginia, 800 E. Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23219
Tickets: lvafoundation.org/tickets

The Library of Virginia will present the Commonwealth's highest prizes for fiction, nonfiction, poetry, children's literature and art in literature at the 28th Annual Virginia Literary Awards Celebration. Attendees will enjoy an awards ceremony, dinner and a silent auction hosted by award-winning author Adriana Trigiani to raise support for the Library's preservation, education and research initiatives. Presented by Dominion Energy and supported by Carole and Marcus Weinstein, this annual gala celebration has become the Library's signature event and an eagerly anticipated cultural tradition in Richmond, attracting those who enjoy the written word and support literature.

For more information about either event, please call 804.692.3813 or visit lvafoundation.org/home/literaryawards.

ABOUT THE VIRGINIA LITERARY AWARDS 
In 1997, the Library of Virginia established its annual Virginia Literary Awards program to honor Virginia writers and celebrate their contributions to the literary landscape of our state and nation. Given to Virginia authors in the categories of fiction and poetry — and to nonfiction authors for works about a Virginia subject as well — the awards are presented at an annual celebration that has become the Library’s signature event and an eagerly anticipated cultural tradition in Richmond. While the main award recipients are selected by independent panels of judges, the Library also invites book lovers and readers to vote for their favorite works for the People’s Choice Awards for Fiction and Nonfiction. Also presented is the Children’s Virginia Literary Award. A partnership between the Library of Virginia and William and Mary Libraries, the award honors excellence in the field of children's literature with a focus on Virginia. In the past, the Library has also bestowed a Literary Lifetime Achievement Award to recognize the enduring influence of an outstanding Virginia writer, with past winners including Nikki Giovanni, Earl Hamner, Lee Smith, Jan Karon, Tom Robbins, Charles Wright, Barbara Kingsolver, Rita Dove, John Grisham, Tom Wolfe and David Baldacci. 

ABOUT THE LIBRARY OF VIRGINIA AND FOUNDATION 
The Library of Virginia is the leading source of information on Virginia’s history, government and people. The Library’s collections, containing more than 134 million items, document and illustrate the lives of both famous Virginians and ordinary citizens. Our online resources draw nearly 2 million website visits per year, and our on-site records, exhibitions and events bring in thousands of visitors annually. The Library is located in downtown Richmond near Capitol Square at 800 East Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23219. Learn more at www.lva.virginia.gov.

The Library of Virginia Foundation supports the Library of Virginia and its mission by raising private financial support, managing its endowment, and helping to bring Virginia’s history and culture to life. Learn more at lvafoundation.org. 
 

ABOUT THE VIRGINIA MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS 
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, Virginia, is one of the largest comprehensive art museums in the United States. VMFA, which opened in 1936, is a state agency and privately endowed educational institution. Its purpose is to collect, preserve, exhibit and interpret art, and to encourage the study of the arts. Through the Office of Statewide Partnerships Program, the museum offers curated exhibitions, arts-related audiovisual programs, symposia, lectures, conferences, and workshops by visual and performing artists. In addition to presenting a wide array of special exhibitions, the museum provides visitors with the opportunity to experience a global collection of art that spans more than 6,000 years. VMFA’s permanent holdings encompass more than 50,000 artworks, including the largest public collection of Fabergé outside of Russia, the finest collection of Art Nouveau outside of Paris and one of the nation’s finest collections of American art. VMFA is also home to important collections of Chinese art, English silver, French Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, British sporting and modern and contemporary art, as well as renowned South Asian, Himalayan and African art. In May 2010, VMFA opened the James W. and Frances G. McGlothlin Wing I after a transformative expansion, previously the largest in its history. A new expansion, the McGlothlin Wing II, is planned to open in 2028. Comprising more than 170,000 square feet, it will be the largest expansion in the museum’s history and will make VMFA the fourth largest comprehensive art museum in the United States. The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts is the only art museum in the United States open 365 days a year with free general admission. For additional information, visit vmfa.museum.