Whiting Awards
1 appearances
-
Edition 11 (1995) Winner
Melanie Sumner
めりあに・さむなー
Meriani Samunā
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- 1963-12-30 （Middletown, Ohio）
- Nationality
- American
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Middletown, Ohio → Rome, Georgia → Senegal → New Mexico → Alaska → Provincetown, Massachusetts → Rome, Georgia
Career
- Occupations
- writer, college professor
- Active Years
- 1987-2024
- Affiliations
- Kennesaw State University
- Memberships
- St. Anthony Hall
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darlington School | — | — | High School Diploma | — | United States |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | — | religious studies | BA | — | United States |
| Boston University | — | creative writing | MFA | — | United States |
Darlington School
Degree:
High School Diploma
Year of Graduation:
1982
Country:
United States
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
religious studies
Degree:
BA
Year of Graduation:
1986
Country:
United States
Member of St. Anthony Hall
Boston University
creative writing
Degree:
MFA
Year of Graduation:
1987
Country:
United States
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Whiting Award | Polite Society | fiction | Whiting Foundation | 受賞 |
| — | Maria Thomas Award | Polite Society | — | — | 受賞 |
| 2010 | National Endowment for the Arts Literary Fellowship | — | prose | National Endowment for the Arts | 受賞 |
Whiting Award
1995
Work:
Polite Society
Category:
fiction
Organization:
Whiting Foundation
Result:
受賞
Maria Thomas Award
Work:
Polite Society
Result:
受賞
National Endowment for the Arts Literary Fellowship
2010
Category:
prose
Organization:
National Endowment for the Arts
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Polite Society
1995 novel/short storiesA young woman from Tennessee serves as a Peace Corps volunteer in Senegal.
Southern culturePeace Corpscross-cultural exchange
The School of Beauty and Charm
2001 novelAn adolescent girl raised in an affluent, Christian-oriented Southern family struggles under parental pressure, turning to alcohol and drugs.
Southern societyfamily pressuremorals
The Ghost of Milagro Creek
2010 novelThe ghost of a medicine woman narrates a story of star-crossed lovers in a mixed community in Taos, New Mexico.
multiculturalismghostsromance
How to Write a Novel
2015 novelA 12-year-old girl moves to a small Georgia town with her English professor mother after her father's death.
lossfamilywriting
Bibliography
- Polite Society
- The School of Beauty and Charm
- The Ghost of Milagro Creek
- How to Write a Novel
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Rich details of Southern townssocial manners and morals and taboos
- Recurring Motifs
- Southern culturecross-cultural experiencesfamily dynamics
Legacy
Acclaimed as one of America's Best Young Novelists in 1995, known for Southern-themed works.
Quotes
-
She comes to her characters with this wealth of knowledge. She's so well-versed in those wonderful little details that make up Southern towns.
Source: Jill McCorkle (2001)
Trivia
- Served in Peace Corps in Senegal.
- Husband died from Lou Gehrig's Disease.