Tributes to North Carolina "Giants" and Presentation of Book Awards Set for Nov. 22

RALEIGH, N.C. - Nov. 7, 2013 - PRLog -- RALEIGH, N.C. -- North Carolina in 2012 lost Andy Griffith, Bill Friday, Doc Watson and Earl Scruggs, individuals who embodied much of what we represent and how we sound. The annual meeting of the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association on Nov. 22 will reflect on their achievements.

The afternoon program at 1:30 p.m. in the downtown Raleigh Sheraton is free and open to the public; the evening banquet requires registration. The event culminates with the North Carolina Book Awards, presented to N.C. residents judged to have authored the year's best works of nonfiction, fiction, poetry and juvenile literature.

A host of presenters will recall how the "giants" who died last year shaped modern North Carolina. The proceedings begin with Georgann Eubanks of Carrboro recalling Doris Betts (who died in 2012) and other writers represented in her "Literary Trails of North Carolina." Assessing the impact of Bill Friday, president of the University of North Carolina from 1956-1986, will be Jim Jenkins of the "News and Observer"; Virginia Taylor, Dr. Friday's assistant; and filmmaker Steve Channing, who will share an excerpt of his new film profiling Friday's law school study group. Robert Cantwell, American Studies professor at UNC-Chapel Hill, will address the influence of Doc Watson and Earl Scruggs on the 1960s folk music revival.

In the evening keynote address, Evan Smith Rakoff will discuss "Andy Griffith, America's Surrogate Father." Rakoff, who grew up in Asheboro and now lives in Manhattan, has written about Griffith for "Slate" and the "Los Angeles Review of Books," and is planning a book-length study of Griffith and other father figures in American culture.

The North Carolina Book Award recipients reflect the breadth of the state's literary community. David Cecelski of Durham receives the Ragan Old North State Award for Nonfiction for "The Fire of Freedom:  Abraham Galloway and the Slaves' Civil War." Galloway was a slave rebel, radical abolitionist, Union spy, freedom fighter, organizer of the freedmen's conventions and state senator.

Terry Roberts of Asheville and Chapel Hill receives the 2013 Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction for "A Short Time to Stay Here," a novel centered on the true story of German prisoners of war interned at Hot Springs during World War I.

Former North Carolina Poet Laureate Kathryn Stripling Byer of Sylva receives the Roanoke-Chowan Award for Poetry for her volume titled "Descent, " a collection that plays on themes of family and race. The incumbent Poet Laureate, Joseph Bathanti, will make the award presentation.

Kelly Starling Lyons of Raleigh receives the American Association of University Women Award for Juvenile Literature for "Tea Cakes for Tosh," the story of an African-American boy who helps his grandmother remember an important family story.

Other presentations will highlight lifetime achievement. Freddie Parker of Durham, history professor at North Carolina Central University, receives the Christopher Crittenden Memorial Award for contributions to North Carolina history. A member of the North Carolina Historical Commission, Parker has been a reliable supporter of interpretive programs at historic sites across the state. Margaret Maron of Johnston County, the acclaimed mystery writer, receives the R. Hunt Parker Memorial Award for literary achievement. Samm-Art Williams of Burgaw is honored with the Hardee Rives Dramatic Arts Award for his career on the New York stage and for his numerous television productions.

The Historical Society of North Carolina will present the R. D. W. Connor Award for the best article in the "North Carolina Historical Review" to J. Vincent Lowery of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay for "The Transatlantic Dreams of the Port City Prophet: The Rural Reform Campaign of Hugh MacRae." Wes Reynolds, a graduate of Davidson College, receives the Hugh T. Lefler Award for the best paper on North Carolina history completed by an undergraduate. His entry was titled " 'Mental Deficients' to Family Planning Clinics: The Human Betterment League's Representations of Eugenic Initiatives in North Carolina, 1947-1972."

The North Carolina Museum of History (http://www.ncdcr.gov/ncmoh/Home.aspx) (part of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources) wins the Award of Merit from the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) for its exhibit "History in Every Direction: The Tar Heel Junior Historian Association Discovery Gallery." The AASLH Awards are the most prestigious honors for achievement in the preservation and interpretation of state and local history.


The Wake County Historical Society has won the Albert Ray Newsome Award for itswork restoring the tombstone of Rachel Bauer in Raleigh’s historic Oakwood Cemetery. The annual award is given by the Federation of North Carolina Historical Societies to recognize local historical preservation.

The Student Publications Awards for best literary magazines are: high school -- first place, "Roars and Whispers," Providence, Charlotte; second place, "Spectrum," Arendell Parrott, Kinston; third place, "Crinkum-Crankum," Northern Vance, Henderson; honorable mention, "Opus," Charlotte Country Day; and middle school -- first place, "Illusions," Martin, Raleigh; second place, "Boundless," Randolph, Charlotte; and third place, "Paw Printz," Randleman.

Registration for the reception at 5 p.m. and dinner at 6 p.m. is $50, due by mail Nov. 10. Make checks payable to the N.C. Literary and Historical Association. For more information, call (919) 807-7280 or visit http://www.ncdcr.gov/LitAndHistMeeting (http://www.ncdcr.gov/Portals/36/PDF/litandhistbrochure201...).The Office of Archives and History, within the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources (http://www.ncdcr.gov/), administers the program.

About the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources:
The N.C. Department of Cultural Resources (NCDCR) is the state agency with a vision to be the leader in using the state's cultural resources to build the social, cultural and economic future of North Carolina. Led by Secretary Susan Kluttz, NCDCR's mission is to enrich lives and communities by creating opportunities to experience excellence in the arts, history and libraries in North Carolina that will spark creativity, stimulate learning, preserve the state's history and promote the creative economy. NCDCR was the first state organization in the nation to include all agencies for arts and culture under one umbrella.

NCDCR annually serves more than 19 million people through its 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, the nation's first state-supported Symphony Orchestra, the State Library, the N.C. Arts Council and the State Archives. For more information, please call (919) 807-7300 or visit www.ncdcr.gov.