Georgia Writers Hall of Fame

During a two week stretch this September, University of Georgia Libraries will host three acclaimed authors (and some notable musicians) for fun, free events open to the community, as well as UGA students, faculty, and staff.

The first event celebrates Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Brandon Som and acclaimed Jordanian writer Siwar Masannat to campus to celebrate their recent publications with the Georgia Review Books, an imprint by the Georgia Review with the University of Georgia Press. Som's book Tripas was a finalist for the National Book Award before winning the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. Masannat's book cue was released in the spring of 2024.

A trailblazing newspaper founder, an influential teacher and poet, and an inspirational author/priest have been selected as the newest members of the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame.

The 2024 class of honorees include Robert Sengstacke Abbott, publisher and editor of one of the most influential Black-owned newspapers of the early 20^th century; Wyatt Prunty, founding director of the Sewanee Writers’ Conference and the Tennessee Williams Fellowship Program; and Barbara Brown Taylor, an author and Episcopal priest.

Prunty and Taylor will inducted into the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame, administered by the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library at the University of Georgia, at separate events this fall. The celebration of Abbott’s posthumous induction is slated for early 2025.

The University of Georgia Libraries are pleased to announce the naming of three new leaders who join University Librarian and Associate Provost Toby Graham in providing direction-setting and oversight for the libraries.

Newest to UGA is Sara Wright who started her role as Associate University Librarian for Learning Services and Academic Engagement in January. Wright formerly served as director of Cornell University’s Mann & Science Cluster Libraries, and her career at Cornell included stints as Academic Technology Librarian; Head of User Services and Engagement; and Head of Learning, Spaces, and Technology.

Celebrate Georgia writers this fall with a reading from the author of Erasure or with a special Italian dinner with the author of Under the Tuscan Sun.

The University of Georgia Libraries will host the two newest members of the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame with special events open to the community later this year. Novelist and cookbook author Frances Mayes will be a featured guest for a plated dinner Saturday, Oct. 28, and poet Percival Everett will read his award-winning work on Thursday, Nov. 2, both at the UGA Special Collections Libraries Building in Athens.

The University of Georgia Libraries will celebrate one of the newest members of the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame with a special family day, complete with children’s activities, crafts and free books for kids.

On Thursday,  June 16th at 6 p.m., the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library will induct Pulitzer Prize winning poet Jericho Brown into the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame.  Brown will deliver a poetry reading and participate in a Q&A discussion; a light reception will follow. 

Valerie Boyd, a writer, editor, professor and mentor, will be inducted into the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame later this year.

The University of Georgia Libraries will host online conversations with two of the newest members of the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame this November, as part of UGA’s Spotlight on the Arts festival.

The personal correspondence of Lillian Smith, one of the most prominent white Southern activists before and during the Civil Rights Movement, will be digitally preserved and made available online, as part of a partnership between the University of Georgia’s Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library and the University of Florida’s Smathers Libraries.

Four writers whose words have inspired people around the world will be celebrated as the newest members of the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame this fall.

Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Jericho Brown, playwright and performance artist Pearl Cleage, and National Book Award Bronze Medal recipient Clarence Major have earned the 2021 distinction, administered by the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library at the University of Georgia to honor the state’s literary legacy.

In addition, the November ceremony will include a special posthumous recognition in honor of the late civil rights leader and U.S. Rep. John Lewis, who was elected into the hall in 2019 for various works, including his speeches, his autobiography, and his trilogy of graphic novels.

His memoir “Run: Book One” — a sequel to the best-selling “March” trilogy — will be published Aug. 3. Lewis completed the story before his death last July at 80.