Since 2014, the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame has recognized Alabama writers whose accomplishments have earned them national and international reputations in the literary arts. Founded through a partnership between the Alabama Center for the Book, housed in the University Libraries at the University of Alabama, and the Alabama Writers’ Forum, AWHOF has inducted six classes of honorees. E. O. Wilson, Fannie Flagg, Winston Groom, Margaret Walker, Harper Lee, and Sonia Sanchez are among those recognized and testify to the rich literary culture of our state.

Join us on March 7th, 2025 as we induct the 2025 Class of the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame!

The gala evening, which is open to the public with ticketed admission, will include a reception and dinner followed by the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame induction ceremony – the highest honor bestowed on Alabama writers.

The 2025 Alabama Writers Hall of Fame inductees are:

Ace Atkins

Frye Gaillard

Joy Harjo

Janice Harrington

Sue Brannan Walker

Robert McCammon

C. Eric Lincoln

Brad Watson

This year’s ceremony will be emceed by Alabama Writers Hall of Fame inductee Daniel Wallace, author of the beloved Big Fish: A Story of Mythic Proportions.

The 2023 Class of the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The 2020 Class of the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame

Mark Childress

Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

Faye Gibbons,

Ralph Ellison

Carolyn Haines,

Michael Knight

Zelda Fitzgerald

Alabama Writers Hall of Fame 2018 Inductees

Joseph Glover Baldwin

William Bradford Huie

Shirley Ann Grau

Gay Talese

Wayne Greenhaw

Charles Gaines

James Haskins

Winston Groom

Alabama Writers Hall of Fame 2016 Inductees

E. O. Wilson

Fannie Flagg

Rodney Jones

Rebecca Gilman

Truman Capote

T.S. Stribling

Margaret Walker

Mary Ward Brown

Sequoyah

Alabama Writers Hall of Fame 2015 Inductee

Rick Bragg

Andrew Glaze

Johnson Jones Hooper

Zora Neale Hurston

Helen Keller

Harper Lee

William March

Albert Murray

Sena Jeter Naslund

Helen Norris Bell

Sonia Sanchez

Augusta Jane Evans Wilson