Cumberland County Education Foundation - One Book One College: Meet The Author / 10-22-25

The One Book for 2025-26 is The Essay by Robin Yocum.

Set in 1970s Appalachian Ohio, Robin Yocum?s novel, The Essay, tells the story of a teenager born into poverty and hopelessness, seemingly destined to repeat the failures of generations of men in his family. At its heart is a reaffirmation of how, often, it?s the silenced voice that is the most powerful, and, as its title suggests, it is today?s much-beleaguered essay that is this story?s second unlikely hero.
 
Robin Yocum is the Edgar-nominated author known for his fiction set in the Ohio River Valley. His latest novel, The Last Hitman, is set to be released in December 2025 by Crooked Lane Books.​
 
Meet the Author!
An Evening with Robin Yocum is sponsored by RCSJ, One Book, One College​ and the Cumberland County Education Foundation​​
 
A book signing will follow. The event is free and open to RCSJ faculty, students, staff, and the community at large.
 
This hard-hitting yet hopeful underdog tale is a popular book club pick that grips readers with its first sentence and refuses to let go even well after its last word is read.
 
The Essay is available at RCSJ Barnes & Noble Bookstores and major booksellers and is sure to elicit important conversations on prejudice, friendship, integrity, family, education, and remaining true to oneself even in the most dire circumstances.
 
Initiated in the 2004-2005 academic year, OBOC is a college- and community-wide reading program with the goal of fostering a reading community that encourages reading for pleasure, critical thinking, global awareness, and multicultural understanding.
 
Each year the OBOC committee chooses one special book to be read by students, faculty, staff, and the community at large. Workshops, discussions, lectures, and/or other related activities are organized around the selected book during the Fall and Spring Semesters of that year. Faculty are encouraged to incorporate the "One Book" into their classes across the curriculum.
 
The program's highlight is the much-anticipated annual author visit to campus. Participation in OBOC is not limited to Cumberland's campus, however. OBOC invites community members to read its selection and welcomes them to attend the annual author visit and book signing on a first-come, first-served basis.