Ron Rash Wins Top Award For Teen Lit
Not only has Ron Rash been awarded a Sherwood Anderson Prize, an O. Henry Award and a Sir Walter Raleigh Award (among numerous others), but as a Western Carolina University professor, he’s also an active and visible part of the regional literary community. It was recently announced that Rash’s third novel, The World Made Straight, is to be further honored (along with nine others) with the 2007 Young Adult Library Services Association’s “Alex” Award. (Kind of strange—because although the book involves a high-school dropout and a disgraced teacher, it wasn’t exactly written for teens.) Now, according to a recent WCU press release, The World Made Straight is going to be added to the list of required reading for 2007 WCU freshmen—sort of awkward for students who might have to make small talk with Rash on campus.
Meanwhile, Regan-Blake Ships Out For Uganda and Dubai
Another high-profile local literary figure, Connie Regan-Blake, will be heading to Africa later this month to share her storytelling skills with women in poverty/AIDS/war-ravaged Uganda. Although the details are a little fuzzy, it appears that she’ll be teaching Ugandan women some of the professional storytelling techniques she’s developed over her 25-year career in the field. The idea appears to be one of personal empowerment, and it’s not unreasonable to think that her audience’s own stories might make for dramatic listening. Regan-Blake will follow the Ugandan visit with a series of workshops in the oil-rich, tourist-loving U.A.E. country of Dubai. The trip is sponsored by Bead for Life, a nonprofit group that sells fair-trade bead necklaces made in Uganda.
Black Swan Theater Launches Jane Bingham Prize
And since we’re talking about the projects of our local literary notables: Local creative jack-of-all-trades David Hopes recently announced that his Black Swan Theater company will be sponsoring an annual contest. The Jane Bingham Prize will be awarded for a script with “the most compelling testimony of the intermingling of the artistic and the spiritual.” The winning play will be produced by Black Swan, and the playwright will receive a $500 award. The deadline to submit plays for the 2007 award is Sunday, Sept. 30. For more information, visit blackswan.org.
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