AWF News

We asked Robert Bailey, bestselling author of the Jason Rich series and the Bosephus Haynes series, for his five favorite legal thrillers. Robert Bailey is the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Jason Rich series, the McMurtrie and Drake legal thrillers series, the Bocephus Haynes series, and the inspirational novel, The Golfer's Carol. Robert was born in Huntsville, Alabama, the son of a builder and a schoolteacher. From the time he could walk, [...]

We asked Dr. Charlotte Pence, the Poet Laureate of Mobile, for her five favorite books set in Mobile. Charlotte Pence is Mobile, Alabama’s inaugural poet laureate. Author of two full-length poetry books, two award-winning chapbooks, a composition handbook, and editor of The Poetics of American Song Lyrics, Dr. Charlotte Pence is the director of the Stokes Center for Creative Writing at the University of South Alabama. Recent honors include a Patterson Fellowship from Vanderbilt [...]

Dr. Charlotte Pence AWF Board Member Dr. Charlotte Pence has been named as the first Poet Laureate of the City of Mobile. Dr. Pence, a professor of English at the University of South Alabama where she directs the Stokes Center for Creative Writing, is the author of Code, which won the ASPS Poetry Book of the Year in 2020, and Many Small Fires, which won the Silver Medal for Poetry from Foreword Reviews [...]

CELEBRATING JEANIE THOMPSON: Friends and family gathered last week to celebrate Jeanie Thompson on her retirement. They shared memories of the Forum's first 30 years and praised Jeanie's dedication and commitment, the keys to AWF's success. Here are a few photos from the evening. Be sure to follow us on Facebook for more photos...

A partnership program of the Alabama State Council on the Arts October 2023 Newsletter From the Executive Director It is with a deep sense of appreciation that I assumed the leadership of the Alabama Writers’ Forum this Fall. I am appreciative for a lot of reasons, but one of them is that over the past couple of months, I have been impressed by just how deep our literary [...]

A partnership program of the Alabama State Council on the Arts August 2023 Newsletter AWF New Executive Director Richard Evans Alabama Writers' Forum Welcomes Richard Kent Evans as Executive Director The Alabama Writers’ Forum is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Richard Kent Evans as its incoming executive director. Only the second director of the long-running statewide literary arts nonprofit, a partnership of the Alabama [...]

Dr. Richard Kent Evans, incoming Executive Director of the Alabama Writers’ Forum The Alabama Writers’ Forum is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Richard Kent Evans as its incoming Executive Director. Only the second director of the long-running statewide literary arts nonprofit, a partnership of the Alabama State Council on the Arts, Evans brings “a wealth of experience and enthusiasm,” says AWF board chair Julie Friedman. “With 30 years under its belt, [...]

A partnership program of the Alabama State Council on the Arts July 2023 Newsletter Birmingham Poet Laureate application launches August 1Create Birmingham, in partnership with the City of Birmingham and funded by the Alabama State Council on the Arts and the Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Arts Committee of the Birmingham City Council, invites Birmingham-based poets to apply to be Birmingham’s inaugural Poet Laureate serving 2024-2025.The City of Birmingham Poet [...]

A partnership program of the Alabama State Council on the Arts June 2023 Newsletter SOUTH ARTS ANNOUNCES LITERARY ARTS FELLOWSHIP South Arts recently announced the Southern Prize and State Fellowships for Literary Arts. A new initiative supporting the field of letters, it offers a total of $80,000 in awards. A $5,000 fellowship will be awarded to one writer from each state in the South Arts region, which [...]