Finalists for Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award announced

From a press release:

Finalists for Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award announced

The Western North Carolina Historical Association proudly announces the five finalists for the 2014 Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award. Originated by the Louis Lipinsky family in 1955, this annual award is now supported by Michael Sartisky, PhD, and the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Advisory Board. The Award has been presented each year for printed works that focus special attention on Western North Carolina. In order to more broadly support the writers of Western North Carolina, this is the first year that semifinalists, and now finalists, are being announced in addition to the Award winner.

The winner of the 2014 Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary will be announced in mid-November.

This year’s finalists were chosen from an original group of nominations numbering twenty-eight. The finalists are as follows:

Flora by Gail Godwin
The Road From Gap Creek by Robert Morgan
Met Her On The Mountain by Mark Pinsky
The Bird Dreamer by Michael Francis Reagan
Guests on Earth by Lee Smith

To be considered, an entry had to be a published work of fiction, nonfiction, drama or poetry. It had to be a first edition work. The publication date of the work to be considered had to be published in 2013 or between January 1 and June 30, 2014, and the author had to be a native of the Western North Carolina region or a resident of WNC for at least twelve months prior to the closing date for the Award. If the author does not qualify as a native or resident, the focus or setting of the work must be Western North Carolina. Western North Carolina includes the Qualla Boundary and the western most 25 counties.

The WNC Historical Association and the Lipinsky family of Asheville presented the first Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award to Wilma Dykeman in 1955 for The French Broad. Last year the winner was Wiley Cash for his novel, A Land More Kind than Home. Other authors who have received the award include John Paris, John Ehle, Charles Frazier, Robert Brunk, Michael McFee, Ron Rash, and Wayne Caldwell.

A prize of $1500.00 accompanies the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award and will be presented to the author in January or February of 2015.