Mississippi Authors Awards
The Mississippi Authors Awards seek to recognize and encourage Mississippi authors and promote interest in local authors’ books, whether the books are about Mississippi or another subject.
Past Winners
Criteria for the Award
Nomination Form
Book Medallions
Mississippi Authors Links
- Awards may be presented in two catergories, fiction and non-fiction, if meritorious works have been published in each category.
- The honored author(s) must be a Mississippian or have lived in Mississippi for at least five years.
- An editor or translator may be considered.
- The honored author(s) must be living.
- The award(s) shall be presented for a specific work rather than a body of work.
- To be eligible for consideration, a book must have been published within three calendar years preceding the year in which the award is made.
- Each work should be judged on its overall quality, with consideration given to literary merit, style and technique, originality, and if applicable accuracy, authenticity and illustrations.
The committee may give a special award at its discretion.
Here are some links to websites about Mississippi’s rich literary heritage:
“The only document of its kind on the Internet, this comprehensive listing of Mississippi’s African-American authors is intended to assist researchers, graduate and undergraduate students, and primary and secondary students in their discovery and exploration of the state’s African-American writers. Funded by the Mississippi State University Office of Research, this project is ongoing, and the list is continually updated. It is hoped that established and emerging authors will continually be identified and added to this list by its compilers and by the literary community, whose input is always welcome.” - From the homepage
Mississippi Writers - http://shs.starkville.k12.ms.us/mswm/MSWritersAndMusicians/write.html
“Many twentieth-century writers were born in Mississippi or have spent an important part of their lives in the state. Some of the writers are world famous, while others are up-and-coming authors with a first novel that is getting much attention. Others are poets, short story writers, dramatists, essayists, or writers of historical novels or memoirs. Many have had movies made based on their work. All have contributed to the literary and cultural heritage of Mississippi. This web site provides up-to-date information about these writers as researched by the students of Starkville High School in Starkville, Mississippi.” - From the Mississippi Writers webpage
The Mississippi Writers Page - http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/english/ms-writers/dir/
“The Mississippi Writers Page brings together in one place a wide assortment of information about Mississippi’s plethora of literary artists… At the heart of The Mississippi Writers Page are the Writer Listings, individual articles on Mississippi writers which include biographical and critical commentaries on the writers, a comprehensive list of their publications, media adaptations, a selective bibliography of critical resources, and an assortment of resources available on the Internet. .” - From the homepage
