Alabama writers will be celebrated in Tuscaloosa for the 2023 Alabama Writers Hall of Fame. Eight new honorees will be inducted tomorrow at the University of Alabama’s Bryant Conference Center. This year’s inductees are Tom Franklin, Trudier Harris, Angela Johnson, Howell Raines, Michelle Richmond and Daniel Wallace. Eugene Walter and Kathryn Tucker Windham will be inducted posthumously.
Jeanie Thompson is the Executive Director of the Alabama Writers’ Forum. The group co-sponsors the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame with the Alabama Center for the Book. She said the induction celebrates Alabama writers and the diversity of the state’s literary legacy.
“It contributes civility to society,” said Thompson. “It also contributes something that’s very pertinent and contemporary right now, which is, it promotes humanities and the arts.”
Thompson said exploring writing is important for everyone. “I know that a lot of places are reducing the number of courses and faculty that they have in humanities in favor of science, technology. You know, teach everybody how to make a computer chip,” she said. “But we can also teach people how to write a poem or a short story or an essay that’s a memoir. And that allows people to get in touch with themselves.”
In a press release, the Alabama Writers’ Forum gave the following details on the inductees:
--Tom Franklin, a novelist and short-story writer, was born in Dickinson, AL. He is the author of the short story collection Poachers and novels Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter; Hell at the Breech; and Smonk. Franklin is currently an associate professor of creative writing at the University of Mississippi.
--Trudier Harris, born in Greene County, AL, is an acclaimed author and scholar whose many authored and co-edited books often focus on Black American literature and authors. Her memoir, Summer Snow: Reflections from a Black Daughter of the South, was published in 2003. She retired from her position as the University of Alabama Distinguished Research Professor of English in 2022.
--Angela Johnson, born in Tuskegee, AL, is the award-winning author of over forty books for children and young adults. Her first book, Tell Me a Story, Mama, was published in 1989. Her picture books, poetry and young adult novels celebrate Black families, their history and community, and frequently feature Alabama settings. Johnson received a MacArthur Fellowship in 2003.
--Howell Raines, a native of Birmingham, is a prize-winning journalist and author of fiction, nonfiction, and memoir. Raines reported for regional newspapers prior to positions at the New York Times, where he was executive editor for three years. His novel, Whiskey Man, and books about fly fishing complement a career that includes commentaries, essays and reviews.
--Michelle Richmond, a native of Mobile, is the author of six novels, several short story collections and numerous essays. Among her best-selling novels are The Year of Fog, The Marriage Pact and The Wonder Test. She is a past recipient of the Truman Capote Prize for literary nonfiction or short story. Her fiction often explores ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances.
--Daniel Wallace, from Birmingham, is a best-selling novelist, short story writer, children’s book author and illustrator. His best-selling novel, Big Fish: A Story of Mythic Proportions, was the basis for a popular film by director Tim Burton. Wallace is a professor of English and director of the creative writing program at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
--Eugene Walter, the “Renaissance Man” from Mobile, was a writer, actor, cookbook author, costume designer, host, editor and artist. He served in the military in the Aleutian Islands and lived in New York, Paris and Rome before returning to Mobile in his later years. He was a founding editor of Paris Review. His first novel, The Untidy Pilgrim, won the Lippincott Prize for fiction and his Time-Life cookbook, American Cooking: Southern Style, is a classic of the genre.
--Kathryn Tucker Windham, born in Selma, was a journalist, photographer, folklorist, author, storyteller, actor and national radio commentator. She was the first woman journalist for the Alabama Journal and later reported for The Birmingham News and the Selma Times-Journal. Her eight “Jeffrey” books presented ghost stories from throughout Alabama and beyond. She was best-known for her appearances at storytelling festivals, schools and other events, and for her regular commentaries for National Public Radio.
Jeanie Thompson, the Executive Director of the Alabama Writers’ Forum, explains the recognition inductees will receive: “It’s a recognition of your lifetime’s work. It’s kind of the concept of ‘this is the cannon of writers.’ But, of course, there are many, many authors who should be recognized,” said Thompson. “This is a selection of our greatest authors, but it’s, by far, not all of our greatest authors.”
This year’s ceremony will be emceed by Alabama Writers Hall of Fame inductee and Harper Lee Award winner Carolyn Haines. This is the first in-person induction since 2020.
The Alabama Writers Hall of Fame was founded in 2014 through a partnership between the Alabama Center for the Book and the Alabama Writers’ Forum.
