The WNC Historical Association presented the first Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award to Wilma Dykeman in 1955 for The French Broad. Last year’s winner was Dr. Sandra Muse Isaacs for her work, Eastern Cherokee Stories: A Living Oral Tradition and Its Cultural Continuance. Other authors who have received the award include Charles Frazier, Robert Morgan, John Parris, Gail Godwin, John Ehle, Robert Brunk, Michael McFee, Lee Smith, Ron Rash, Wiley Cash, Wayne Caldwell, Fiona Ritchie, and Doug Orr.
A prize of $2,500.00 accompanies the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award and will be virtually presented to the author on Thursday, December 9 at 6:30pm during a live Zoom event that will include readings by the finalists. Please reserve this date.
The Award Panel this year consists of: Catherine Frank, Chair, Director, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UNC Asheville; Daniel Clare, English Department, A.C. Reynolds High School; Dee James, professor emeritus, UNC-Asheville; Leslee Johnson, English Department, UNC-Asheville; Tom Muir, Historic Site Manager, Thomas Wolfe Memorial; Gordon McKinney, professor emeritus, Berea College; Terry Roberts, Director, National Paideia Center; and Jim Stokely, President, Wilma Dykeman Legacy.
This year’s finalists were chosen from an original group of 40 nominations. The finalists, listed below, encompass a broad range of genres and forms.
Mary Othella Burnette
Lige of the Black Walnut Tree: Growing Up Black in Southern Appalachia
Wayne Caldwell
Woodsmoke
Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle
Even As We Breath: A Novel
Vicki Lane
And the Crows Took Their Eyes
Matthew Wimberley
All the Great Territories