A Virginia Humanities 50th Anniversary Event
Alexandria—Virginia Humanities, the state humanities council, is celebrating its 50th Anniversary with a talk by bestselling novelist Bruce Holsinger at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Old Town Alexandria on Saturday, September 27 at 7:00 p.m. The event is presented in partnership with St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, the Alexandria Festival of the Book, and Old Town Books.
Holsinger’s latest book, Culpability, was a recent Oprah Book Club selection. Culpability is a family drama about moral responsibility in the age of artificial intelligence, in the wake of a car crash involving an autonomous minivan. Chat bots, a world-renowned expert in the ethics of AI, drones, and a tech mogul populate this novel, described as “riveting” by Oprah Winfrey.
“We at Virginia Humanities are actively examining what AI means for the humanities,” says Virginia Humanities’ Executive Director, Matthew Gibson. “A novel that features the ethics of AI speaks to the questions we have as an organization, and we are proud to collaborate with organizations in Alexandria to bring this conversation to Northern Virginia.”
“A novel that features the ethics of AI speaks to the questions we have as an organization."
Matthew Gibson—Executive Director, Virginia Humanities
For the inaugural Alexandria Festival of the Book, which will take place on March 14, 2026 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, the Reverend Oran Warder, Rector, sees the talk by Bruce Holsinger as an opportunity to bring book-minded people together to look forward to more literary events in the city.
“We at St. Paul’s are excited to collaborate with Virginia Humanities and to offer this opportunity for Alexandria and the surrounding area to explore the world of books and the important lessons and messages available through literature,” he says, adding, “AI is a topical and urgent matter to examine. We also look forward to our joint program next March in which we will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the founding fathers.”
Bruce Holsinger will be in conversation with Kalela Williams, author of the YA novel Tangleroot and the director of the Virginia Center for the Book, a program of Virginia Humanities. Williams says, “Oprah was right. I couldn’t put this book down. It isn’t just because Holsinger is so deft at creating characters who keep readers guessing about their motives—it's also because I kept posing greater questions about AI and humanity for myself, even as I was eager to turn the page.”
The author talk with Bruce Holsinger takes place at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church at 228 S. Pitt Street in Alexandria on Saturday, September 27 at 7:00 p.m. Holsinger’s talk will be followed by a book signing, with sales by Old Town Books. The event is free and open to the public, though registration is recommended at VaBook.org.
About Virginia Humanities
Virginia Humanities is the state humanities council. We’re headquartered in Charlottesville at the University of Virginia, but we serve the entire state. We aim to share the stories of all Virginians—or, better yet, find ways for people to share their own stories. We want Virginians to connect with their history and culture and, in doing that, we hope we’ll all get to know each other a little better. Founded in 1974, we are one of fifty-six humanities councils created by Congress with money and support from the National Endowment for the Humanities to make the humanities available to all Americans. To learn more, visit VirginiaHumanities.org.
