Thirtieth Mary Frances聽Hobson聽Prize for聽Distinguished Achievement in Arts and Letters
麻豆视频 is pleased to announce that De鈥橲hawn Charles Winslow is the recipient of the 2024 Mary Frances聽Hobson聽Prize for Distinguished Achievement in Arts and Letters. His novels, In West Mills听补苍诲听Decent People, are explorations of a small African American community in northeastern North Carolina. In making the announcement, theHobson聽Prize Selection Committee noted, 鈥淲inslow is known for a distinctive and engaging writing style that captivates readers with its narrative depth. Rooted in his own experiences growing up in northeastern North Carolina, Winslow infuses his novels with a sense of cultural聽authenticity. The聽dialogue, customs, and setting in his work reflect the unique aspects of the African American community he portrays.鈥�
Initiated in 1995 by the Hobson Family Foundation of San Francisco, the award serves as a memorial to Mary Frances Hobson (1912-1993), a journalist and poet, who was the first woman to receive the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award in journalism from the University of North Carolina. Previously honored recipients are Kaye Gibbons (1995), Mark Richard (1996), Jill McCorkle (1997), Randall Kenan (1998), G.D. Gearino (1999), Amy Hempel (2000), Allan Gurganus (2001), Padgett Powell (2002), Sheri Reynolds (2003), Chuck Sullivan (2004), Sheila Moses (2005), Michael Parker (2006), Josephine Humphreys (2007), Judy Goldman (2008), Darnell Arnoult (2009), Lee Smith (2010), Robert Morgan (2011), Silas House (2012), Joseph Bathanti (2013), Sharyn McCrumb (2014), Dorothy Allison (2015), Edward P. Jones (2016), Kevin Wilson (2017), Jim Grimsley (2018), Wiley Cash (2019), Crystal Wilkinson (2020), Michel Stone (2021), Daniel Wallace (2022), and David Sanchez (2023).
The annual event brings the university and community together each spring to celebrate the accomplishments of an author of the South or who writes about the South. The 30th prize will be conferred on Monday, April 1, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. at a dinner in the Chowan Room in Thomas Dining Hall. Following the dinner and conferral, Winslow will deliver the HobsonLecture at 7:30 in Vaughan Auditorium in Robert Marks Hall.
Born and raised in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, De鈥橲hawn Charles Winslow holds an M.F.A. from the Iowa Writers鈥� Workshop and a B.F.A. in creative writing and an M.A. in English literature from Brooklyn College. He has received scholarships from the Napa Valley Writers鈥� Conference and the Bread Loaf Writers鈥� Conference. Featured as a 鈥淲riter to Watch鈥� in the New York Times, Winslow currently resides in Newark, New Jersey.
In West Mills (2019), his debut novel about a family鈥檚 struggles and secrets, spans several decades, from the 1940s to the 1980s. The recipient of the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, the Willie Morris Award for Southern Fiction, an American Book Award, and a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, it received critical acclaim for its compelling narrative and well-drawn characters.
Decent People (2023) is a small-town (West Mills) murder mystery set in 1976 that draws readers into the community鈥檚 racial history. In his review of Decent People in the Washington Post, Ron Charles wrote, 鈥淭he larger social context that Winslow explores is what moves this story beyond one crime into a reflection on the myriad unacknowledged crimes committed across decades.鈥�
The public is invited to attend the Hobson Prize Lecture. To make reservations, contact the Office of the Provost at 252-398-6211 or cuprovost@chowan.edu.