Announcing the 2023 Willie Morris Awards Winners
The Willie Morris Awards for Southern Writing features some of the year’s best in contemporary literature in a ceremony concluding the Oxford Conference for the Book. It exists to honor rising authors and, by extension, spreads appreciation for contemporary Southern literature as a whole. In the spirit of the awards’ namesake, winning authors address Southern themes with an air of hope. From hundreds of nominations, our national panel of judges is thrilled to announce the 2023 winners in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.
Fiction
Those We Thought We Knew
by David Joy
Nonfiction
The Wreck: A Daughter's Story of Becoming a Mother
by Cassandra Jackson
Poetry
“Galveston”
by Lauren Crawford
Winners will be celebrated during the Oxford Conference for the Book. Their session is scheduled for April 5 4:30 at Off Square Books and is open to the public. The session will be followed by a book signing and reception.
About the Winners
David Joy
THOSE WE THOUGHT WE KNEW
“His intricately developed characters, careful establishment of place and thoughtful storyline demonstrate a depth and complexity that challenges the reader to confront preconceived notions about race, friendship and community.”
- Monica Weatherly, poet, previous winner, and judge for the fiction category
Cassandra Jackson
THE WRECK:
A DAUGHTER’S
STORY OF BECOMING A MOTHER
"It is in Jackson's homecoming to the South that she reckons with the ghosts of her past and finds the strength and resilience to continue on her journey toward motherhood.
– Amber Nichols-Buckley, judge for the nonfiction category
SOUTHERN POETRY
Lauren Crawfod
GALVESTON
"Lauren Crawford's free verse poem 'Galveston' deftly observes the natural world as she reflects on her inner world. She surprises the reader with imagery, energy, angst and an insatiable spirit."
– Susan Kinsolving, judge for the poetry category