College Hill neighbor Miriam Herin died Tuesday, May 27, 2025, at age 84. Miriam was an award-winning author of three novels. She and her husband, Tom Herin, have lived on Walker Avenue for 18 years. They came to Greensboro from Charlotte when Tom became pastor of College Place United Methodist Church.
Miriam’s first novel, Absolution, won the 2007 Novello Press Literary Award. Publishers Weekly called it an “impressive” debut that “skillfully combines a contemporary courtroom thriller with a subtle look back at the competing passions and pressures of the Vietnam War era.” Her second, A Stone for Bread, won the Legacy Fiction category in the 2020 Eric Hoffer Awards.
Her most recent novel, The Basilisk (2022), received a starred Kirkus Review that praised the novel as “a richly textured medieval tale told with gripping suspense, keen intelligence, and aching emotion.”
Miriam Margaret Macfarlan Herin was born in Miami, Florida. She was a graduate of Emory and Henry College and the University of South Carolina, where she earned her master’s and Ph.D. in English literature. She taught at universities, served as a social worker at a children’s home and worked as an editor at Good Housekeeping magazine and as a free-lance writer. She worked as a volunteer for five years to create and coordinate a youth program that involved 56 young people who were refugees from Southeast Asia. For more about Miriam and her work, go to https://miriamherin.com/ (and previous College Hill blog posts here and here).
In addition to Tom, Miriam is survived by their two adult children, Carol Herin Jordan of Bowling Green, Kentucky, and John Herin of New York City, and two grandchildren.
College Hill will remember Miriam as a valued, outgoing and upbeat neighbor often seen walking with Tom and their dog, Chance. She loved having friends over for parties at their backyard pool. Our condolences to Tom and their family.
UPDATE, June 1, 2025: A memorial service will be held on Saturday, August 2 at 11 a.m. at College Place United Methodist Church, 509 Tate Street. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorials be made to Emory and Henry University, Office of Philanthropy and Engagement, P.O. Box 950, Emory, VA 24327 or to the charity of your choice.
