Hart + Harvest Press Releases Ann Calwell's "Two Centuries, One Year: A Historical Novel of the First World War"
New historical novel recounts a town's transformation from a rural farming community into a munitions boomtown, as experienced through the eyes of a young writer
NEW YORK and CHARLESTON, W.Va., Nov. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- On the 107th anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I, Hart + Harvest Press is pleased to announce the release of Two Centuries, One Year: A Historical Novel of the First World War. Through the eyes of an intrepid 12-year-old girl emerges a vivid glimpse of a town's radical change in the face of war on a previously inconceivable scale.
Two Centuries, One Year is a compelling historical novel based on the true story of a town's creation—carved from farmland just outside Charleston, West Virginia—to manufacture massive amounts of gunpowder for Allied use during the First World War. The town came to be called "Nitro," after an ingredient in the gunpowder it produced. And the town's growth and development? Explosive.
Two Centuries, One Year unfolds through the personal diary of Ana Ariano, a 12-year-old self-proclaimed "war correspondent" recording the day-to-day lives of the town's residents as they move from a 19th Century, horse-driven agricultural community into the new century of railroads, manufacturing. . . and war. Young readers will learn about the industrial boom during the First World War while relating to Ana's universal experiences of growing up, dreaming of future careers, and struggling to fit in with her classmates.
Author Ann Calwell, who grew up in Nitro, reimagines this chapter in West Virginia history using authentic photos and documents from Nitro's historical archive and other primary sources. In 1917, the village that would become Nitro was selected by the War Department as an ideal location for a massive gunpowder plant; this decision would catapult the rural community from the 19th century into the 20th century as it became a major center of manufacturing in West Virginia.
"A major inspiration for this novel was a letter President Wilson wrote to a child named Mildred White in Maryland, which I included in the book." said Ann Calwell. "This expression of warm connection to young people led me to imagine Ana, a girl who decides to write to the President herself."
Ana, determined to recount her town's progress to President Woodrow Wilson, writes down everything she can observe in her new boomtown—from new construction techniques, to the chemistry of gunpowder, to potential war profiteering. Ana grows along with her town, as scores of workers from around the world arrive in the Kanawha Valley community she calls home.
From the novel:
We have a new modern town name—Nitro. It is made from the word nitrocellulose.
Nitrocellulose is important for making gunpowder. It is also sometimes called gun cotton or flash paper. Those would be silly names for a town.
Somebody else wanted to name our town Redwop—powder spelled backwards—a horrible name for a town. I like Nitro the best. It sounds scientific.
Now that Ann and Abigail live here in Nitro I have made the perfect plan to help President Wilson win the war faster—it will take all three of us working together. I thought of it because Mother says writing down everything is very important. We will be a team of real war correspondents! […]
We will send the President our own reports and pictures from here in Nitro. We are right on the scene. Ann and Abigail's daddies see everything first, so we are the best people for this job. Our village will go from farms to factories in only nine months. Two centuries will join together to win the Great War!
Two Centuries, One Year is available as an e-book now, with hardcopies coming to bookstores and online retailers (including Amazon and Barnes & Noble).
More information about Two Centuries, One Year can be found at hartandharvest.com.
About the Author
Ann Moody Calwell spent her career as a teacher of English and Spanish, in addition to working as a play therapist for the children at West Virginia University Hospital and as a coordinator for the West Virginia Department of Education's Youth and Government Seminar programs. She lives in West Virginia with her husband, Stuart Calwell, and their daughters Elisa and Emily.
Ann drew major inspiration from her father, Jack C. Moody, who founded the Nitro World War I Memorial Museum. Mr. Moody served in the US Army Corps in World War II and worked as a chemical engineer at American Viscose Corporation's plant in Nitro during the town's second wave of manufacturing, two decades after the emergency production of gunpowder for World War I that Ana witnesses in the novel. He was named a West Virginia History Hero in 1999.
About Hart + Harvest Press
Hart + Harvest Press is a publishing house focusing on the power of language, of narrative, of stories and storytelling, to entertain, enlighten, and persuade. Founded and supported by a well-established marketing and publicity firm, Hart + Harvest creates books with impact and staying power. The publisher prioritizes supporting thoughtful authors that write on topics that educate and inspire. For more information, visit hartandharvest.com.
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SOURCE Hart + Harvest Press