Nominations are being accepted for Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award

Press release from The Western North Carolina Historical Association:

The Western North Carolina Historical Association is now accepting nominations for the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award. Originated by the Louis Lipinsky family and now supported by Michael Sartisky, PhD, the Award is a partnership between WNCHA and the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Advisory Committee. It has been presented by WNCHA since 1955. The award comes with a $2,500 cash prize.

The deadline for submission of nominated works is July 15, 2019. Anyone with knowledge of an author who meets the qualification criteria may nominate the author for the award. To be considered, an entry must be a published work of fiction, nonfiction, drama or poetry and meet the following criteria:
• It must be a first edition work; revised editions of published works will not be considered for the Award.
• The publication date must be in the calendar year 2018 or no later than July 1, 2019.
• The author must be a native of western North Carolina or a resident of western North Carolina for at least twelve months prior to the closing date for the Award.
• An author may also qualify if the work submitted has a focus on or setting in western North Carolina.

Western North Carolina includes the Qualla Boundary and the following 25 counties:  Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Surry, Swain, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes, Yadkin, and Yancey.

The Award Panel this year consists of: Brandon J. Johnson, Chair, Mars Hill University, Pam Duncan, Associate Professor of English, Western Carolina University; Gwin Jones, Past Chair WNCHA; Tom Muir, Historic Site Manager, Thomas Wolfe Memorial; Ellen Carr, Treasurer, Thomas Wolfe Memorial Advisory Committee; Gordon McKinney, PhD, former president, Appalachian Studies Association; Terry Roberts, PhD, Director, National Paideia Center; Jim Stokely, President, Wilma Dykeman Legacy.

Nomination letters must specify the following eligibility criteria:
date of publication
birthplace or residence of author
setting of work

Nominators should submit a cover letter along with three copies of the work post-marked no later than July 1, 2018 to:
Wolfe Award Committee
C/O Tom Muir
Thomas Wolfe Memorial
52 N. Market Street
Asheville, NC  28801

An awards ceremony and reception, in honor of the finalists and 2019 Award recipient, will be held in November 2019.

The Association presented the first Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award to Wilma Dykeman in 1955 for The French Broad. The Award has continued to be funded, in part, by Mrs. E. Frank Edwin, a member of the Lipinsky family and for the last three years by WNCHA, and the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Advisory Board, both with support from Michael Sartisky, PhD. Other recipients of this prestigious Award include Robert Morgan, John Paris, Gail Godwin, John Ehle, Robert Brunk, Michael McFee, Lee Smith, Ron Rash, Wayne Caldwell and Terry Roberts. Charles Frazier was the recipient of the 2018 Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award for his book: Varina.