Former Public Policy Scholar William R. Ferris Wins Richard Wright Literary Excellence Award
William Ferris, a 2002 Wilson Center public policy scholar and a leading voice on southern U.S. culture, has received the Richard Wright Literary Excellence Award.
William Ferris, a leading voice on Southern studies, music and folklore,
was recently awarded the Richard Wright Literary Excellence Award. In 2002, Ferris was a public policy scholar at the Center, working on a book titled, A Southern Journey: Interviews and Photographs.
The Richard Wright Literary Excellence Award was established in 1994 by
the Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration to honor the internationally known author, Richard Wright. Winners of the award are honored each year for a body of literary work. They must be outstanding, living writers with a strong Mississippi connection.
Ferris, senior associate director of the Center for the Study of the American South at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has joined the esteemed ranks of such other winners as Eudora Welty, Willie Morris, Shelby Foote, Elizabeth Spencer, Richard Ford, Will Campbell, Barry Hannah, John Grisham.
More About Bill Ferris
Historically, the South has been the most artistically rich region of the country. This has much to do with the distinctive voices of its artists. In this Dialogue Radio interview, William Ferris explains how creators like Eudora Welty, B.B. King and Alex Haley represent the artistic contribution of the American South.
