Winners of the 2012 Curtis and Billie Owens Literary Awards included Justin Reed, left, and Danielle Armstrong, right. Author Erin Tocknell, center, made the announcement of the winners of the annual literary competition for Tusculum College students during a reading of her work on Thursday.
Tusculum College students Justin Reed, Danielle Armstrong and Andrew Baker are the winners of the 2012 Curtis and Billie Owens Literary Awards, annually presented to recognize the literary achievements of the college’s creative writing students.
Reed was the award recipient in two categories. His poems, “The Catacomb Kids” and “/’win tƏr/Poem,” earned him the award for the poetry category, and his script, “Act One of the Devil’s Pander” was named the scriptwriting winner. The senior creative writing major from Florence, S.C., also recently had his work recognized at the 52nd annual Lex Allen Literary Festival at Hollins University. One of Reed’s poems, “Everyone Down Here is Pretty,” was selected as runner up in the poetry division of this national event.
Danielle Armstrong was selected the award recipient in the non-fiction category with her essay, “On Rejection.” This is the second time that Armstrong has received an Owens Literary Award. She also won the non-fiction category in 2010. Armstrong is a senior from Blountville, Tenn., majoring in creative writing
Andrew Baker received an “honorable mention” in the non-fiction category for his work “Running Toward White Castle.” Baker is a junior from Athens, Tenn., majoring in creative writing.
The literary award was named for Curtis Owens, a 1928 graduate of Tusculum College who went on to a teaching career at what is now Pace University in New York. He and his wife established the Owens Award at his alma mater to encourage and reward excellence in writing among Tusculum students.
The announcement of the winners was made during a reading Thursday evening by award-winning author Erin Tocknell, who served as the judge for the final round of competition. The reading was part of the annual Humanities Series, sponsored by the Tusculum College English Department.
Tocknell read the essay, “That’s What We’re Doing Here,” about her experiences as a small-town news reporter. The essay is included in her first book, “Confederate Streets,” which won the Benu Press Social Justice and Equity Award in Creative Non-Fiction. A teacher at the McCallie School in Chattanooga, she was the winner of the Association of Writers & Writing Programs Intro Award in 2007 and has been published in “Tampa Review,” “The Southern Review,” “Ancient Paths” and “Oakland Review.”