LUMBERTON — Book ‘Em North Carolina, typically hosted annually by Robeson Community College, will look a lot different this year.

For the first time ever the event will take place virtually from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Feb. 27 through RCC’s Facebook page.

Book ‘Em is typically a showplace for authors and a celebration of reading for people young and old on the RCC campus. The purpose of The Book ‘Em Foundation and the event is to raise public awareness of the link between high crime rates and high illiteracy rates.

Proceeds from the Book ‘Em North Carolina book fair will go directly toward increasing literacy in Robeson County and to reducing crime in the area.

This year’s headlining authors are Scott Mason and Jill McCorkle.

McCorkle, a native of Lumberton, is the author of four story collections and seven novels, most recent “Hieroglyphics.” Her work has been published in many periodicals and included in Best American Short Stories. She is core faculty in the Bennington Writing Seminars and affiliated with the MFA Program at N.C. State University.

Five of her works have been named New York Times notable books, while three of her stories have appeared in Best American Short Stories anthologies.

Between writing novels and short stories, McCorkle has taught at UNC-Chapel Hill, Harvard, Tufts and Brandeis. She is a frequent instructor at the Sewanee Summer Writers Program.

McCorkle has received the New England Book Award, John Dos Passos Prize for Literature, North Carolina Award for Literature and Thomas Wolfe Prize. She was inducted into the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame in 2018 during a ceremony at the Weymouth Center in Southern Pines.

Mason is a broadcast journalist with 35 years of television experience. He has won dozens of awards for documentaries, writing, and feature reporting, including three National Edward R. Murrow awards and 20 regional Emmys. The Electronic News Association of the Carolinas has twice named Mason North Carolina Television Reporter of the Year.

He has worked as a reporter and bureau chief for network affiliates in Chattanooga, Tennessee; Winston-Salem; and Dayton, Ohio.

In 1991, Mason joined the PBS affiliate in Richmond, Virginia, where he created, wrote, produced, and hosted a weekly news magazine. Virginia Currents won more than 100 awards for journalistic excellence during Mason’s tenure. The United States Information Agency distributed the program to embassies worldwide.

Scott’s success caught the attention of WRAL-TV, the NBC affiliate in Raleigh. In April 1997, Mason became the station’s Documentary producer. He researched, wrote, and produced 10 documentaries before adding his talents to the nightly news team as a reporter specializing in features.

Today, Mason is known as the Tar Heel Traveler. His Monday-Thursday series on WRAL takes viewers along the back roads of North Carolina, where he meets memorable characters, finds out-of-the-way places, and unearths fascinating historical footnotes. The series has become so popular it has led to Tar Heel Traveler half-hour specials, which Mason produces each quarter.

Mason has published five books about his television adventures.