The University of Georgia Press is pleased to announce a new endowment to support the publication and promotion of the winners of the Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction.
The Debbie and John Edwards Endowment has been established to cover all costs for the award-winning short story collections that are published every fall, including editorial, design, and marketing costs. The $100,000 gift from UGA Press Advisory Council Chair Debbie Edwards and her husband John will also support author travel to Georgia for book launch events, advertising, and help expand overall visibility for the distinguished award that has been sponsored by UGA Press for over four decades.
"John and I have been delighted to become involved with the UGA Press and its wonderful professional staff and Advisory Council members,” said Debbie Edwards. “Our gift to endow the Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction permits the Press to further recognize the talented recipients of the award and to expose UGA students to them, while also helping to shine a light on one of the best and most original writers Georgia has produced."
Though she only published two novels and two collections of short fiction in her life, Flannery O’Connor continues to entrance devotees of southern literature and the short story form. Born in Savannah, O’Connor lived much of her life in Milledgeville, Georgia, and is one of the state’s most famed literary figures.
UGA Press first began awarding the short fiction prize named for O’Connor in 1983, with more than seventy short-story collections published since the award’s inception. Now in its 44th year, the award is still going strong, with over 400 short-story collections submitted just this year for the chance to win $1000 and publication of their winning collection.
Past judges include such notable authors as Nancy Zafris, Roxane Gay, and out-going judge and former FOC winner Lori Ostlund. The award has become a proving ground for practitioners of the short story form and a springboard for authors’ careers. Other renowned winners include Ha Jin, Antonya Nelson, Andrew Porter, Molly Giles, and Amina Gautier.
“As a long-time fan of O’Connor’s style and command of the short story form, it’s a joy to work with the prize associated with her name,” said acquisition editor Sarah Shermyen, who serves as the steward of the Flannery O’Connor Award at UGA Press. "With this generous gift from Debbie and John Edwards, I’m delighted that we can not only continue to support and celebrate writers of short fiction but also expand our efforts to share great writing with readers and lovers of literature, especially in Georgia.”
The submission window for the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction is from April 1 to May 31 every year. Winners are announced in early September. More information about the prize, previous winners, as well as submission guidelines can be found on the series page of UGA Press’s website: https://www.ugapress.org/series/flannery-oconnor-award-for-short-fiction/
About the University of Georgia Press:
Since its founding in 1938, the mission of the University of Georgia Press is to publish innovative scholarship and compelling stories that inspire and inform the people of Georgia and the world. The Press is a founding partner of the New Georgia Encyclopedia and the new Publishing Certificate program offered by UGA’s Department of English.
As a nonprofit university press, UGA Press upholds a high standard of peer review and thorough vetting as a member of the Association of University Presses. To learn more about supporting the Press and its publications, authors, events, and internships, visit www.ugapress.org.