WKU News

The WKU Department of English is excited to host our 27^th annual Mary Ellen and Jim Wayne Miller Celebration of Writing on Sunday, November 12, at 2 p.m. in Cherry 125, followed by a reception with refreshments in Cherry 101. The event is free and open to the public.

Every year, the Celebration committee, comprised of the WKU faculty in the Creative Writing program, selects a genre for the contest and then selects a judge to evaluate the 10 finalists. The finalists participate in a workshop that is led by the contest judge. This year’s contest is focused on short fiction. Ten outstanding finalists will receive recognition for their stories:

• Nia Queen Douglas, “The Home”
• Clara Dusing, “Flight”
• Valerie Feldker, “Long Ever After”
• Avery Harlow, “Polaroid Sun 600”
• Isabelle Hunt, “My Angel”
• Hannah Levering, “Watchful Eyes”
• Jessica Levine, “The Waffle House Index”
• Hannah Mae Santamaria, “The House That Built Me”
• Daniel Ungs, “A Quiet Trip Home”
• Kaitlyn Witt, “Cooking for None”

First-, second-, and third-place winners will be announced by guest judge Angela Jackson-Brown, author of novels such as Drinking from a Bitter Cup, House Repairs, and When Stars Rain Down. In addition to judging, she will also be treating everyone who attends the ceremony to a reading of her latest work, Homeward, published on October 13, 2023. Set in 1965 Georgia, the novel centers on a woman named Rose who returns home, widowed and pregnant with another man’s child, who finds new purpose in life as she becomes involved in nonviolent activism. Ms. Jackson-Brown will sign copies of her novels at the event.

This event began as the Jim Wayne Miller Celebration of Writing, dedicated to honoring the memory of Jim Wayne Miller, a remarkable poet, fiction writer, and essayist, whose words left a huge impact on the world of literature. His famous books, like Copperhead Cane (1964), The Mountains Have Come Closer (1980), and Newfound (1989), have captivated readers across the world and continue to do so. After Jim Wayne died, his wife Mary Ellen continued the tradition until her passing in June 2018. The Department of English added her name to the event in recognition of her contributions to poetry, the teaching of creative writing, and mentoring budding writers.