CHARLOTTESVILLE
Recently, Riverkeeper Jeff Turner went back to Charlottesville for the first time since going through treatment for his spinal cord injury. This time was a lot more pleasant, though, as he and “Tails of Moonpie and The Riverkeeper” were being honored for the Virginia Outdoor Writers Association Madison County “Virginia” Award for outstanding book.

“One of the members wrote to me and said, ‘Hey, we heard you wrote a book. You ought to send it in,’” Turner said. “I sent three copies to the judges for the heck of it and didn’t expect anything.”

“Tails of Moonpie and The Riverkeeper” is a book spanning more than two decades of Turner’s life, starting in the 1990s when he trained Moonpie to be a river dog and continuing to Turner becoming Riverkeeper, the death of the iconic dog and then the emergence of the “Spirit of Moonpie.”

Turner said he felt a little out of place because he doesn’t believe he’s been schooled enough compared to some writers present.

“It was still nice to rub elbows and for them to think that my book was worthy,” he said. “I consider those folks the cream of the crop, so I am honored that my book was the book of the year.”

The $15 book can be picked up at The Peanut Patch, located at 27478 Southampton Parkway in Courtland.

“Sales have been good,” Turner said. “It slowed down a little after Christmas, but I guess that is to be expected.”

So far the book is only available locally, though The Peanut Patch will ship it. The Riverkeeper hasn’t had a chance to put time into promoting it outside of the area or researching online sales.

“It’s been interesting,” Turner said about the experience so far. “It’s cool how people have taken to it.”