The North Carolina Awards are open for nominations through April 15.
The North Carolina Awards are the highest civilian honor bestowed by the state. Facilitated by the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, the awards recognize leaders in Fine Arts, Public Service, Science, and Literature.
Last year’s winner in Literature was poet and essayist Michael McFee, who will give the Keynote Address at the North Carolina Writers’ Network 2019 Spring Conference on Saturday, April 27, at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. McFee is a longtime professor in the Creative Writing Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Past winners of the NC Award in Literature also include North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame inductees Betty Adcock, Jaki Shelton Green (also the current NC poet laureate), Paul Green, Randall Kenan, Lee Smith, Shelby Stephenson (former NC poet laureate), and many more.
Nominations are accepted online here.
Or, submit via mail.
Awards recipients are chosen by the North Carolina Awards Committee, a selection committee of five (5) members appointed by the Governor. The Committee reviews the nominations and may select one or more nominees in each of the four (4) categories. At the Committee’s discretion, a nominee may be moved to a different category than originally nominated. Factors considered in the selection process include:
- Span and scope of career
- Voluntary public service
- Legacy of work
- Current projects
- Awards and honors
Winners will be announced in the late summer or early fall.
For more information, visit www.ncdcr.gov/about/special-programs/nc-awards.