2024 North Carolina Book Award Recipients Announced

North Carolina's strong literary tradition is celebrated by the 2024 North Carolina Book Awards, which will be presented Dec. 6 during the annual meeting of the N.C. Literary and Historical Association. The annual awards recognize significant works by North Carolina writers.

Since its founding in September 1900, the N.C. Literary and Historical Association has pledged to stimulate the production of literature and to collect and preserve historical material in North Carolina

The 2024 North Carolina Book Award winners are:

Ragan Old North State Award for Fiction: David Joy for "Those We Thought We Knew." Joy, who has authored five novels, is a 12th-generation North Carolinian with roots along the Catawba River, now living in Jackson County. His stories, intricately tied to the Appalachian landscape, have been translated into six languages. His writing has appeared in publications such as Garden & Gun, Time, and The New York Times Magazine. Joy is also a recipient of an artist fellowship from the North Carolina Arts Council.

Ragan Old North State Award for Nonfiction: Elizabeth S. D. Engelhardt for "Boardinghouse Women: How South Keepers, Cooks, Nurses, Widows, and Runaways Shaped Modern America." Engelhardt is Kenan Eminent Professor of Southern Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A scholar of southern and Appalachian food and culture, she is the author or editor of eight books.

Roanoke Chowan Award for Poetry: Carole Boston Weatherford, with art by Jeffery Boston Weatherford for "Kin: Rooted in Hope." Weatherford, the daughter of a printer, began writing at the age of 6, with her first poems quickly finding their way into print. With over 80 books to her credit, she has received two NAACP Image Awards and 18 American Library Association Youth Media Awards, including a Newbery Honor, the Coretta Scott King Award, and four Caldecott Honors. Her distinguished career has earned her the North Carolina Award for Literature, the Children's Book Guild Nonfiction Award, and induction into the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame. A retired English professor, she now resides in Maryland.

NC AAUW Young People's Literature Award: Alicia D. Williams for "Mid-Air." Williams earned a BA in African American Studies from the University of Kentucky in 1994, followed by her graduation from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York. During her time in New York, she took to the stage in plays, commercials, and comedy, performing in both sketch and stand-up formats. She has also been featured in media such as NPR, QC Nerve, The Charlotte Observer, and Smithsonian Folklife Magazine. Find information to nominate books for the 2025 awards at https://nclr.ecu.edu/submissions/north-carolina-book-awards/.

About the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) manages, promotes, and enhances the things that people love about North Carolina - its diverse arts and culture, rich history, and spectacular natural areas. Through its programs, the department enhances education, stimulates economic development, improves public health, expands accessibility, and strengthens community resiliency.

The department manages over 100 locations across the state, including 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, five science museums, four aquariums, 35 state parks, four recreation areas, dozens of state trails and natural areas, the North Carolina Zoo, the State Library, the State Archives, the N.C. Arts Council, the African American Heritage Commission, the American Indian Heritage Commission, the State Historic Preservation Office, the Office of State Archaeology, the Highway Historical Markers program, the N.C. Land and Water Fund, and the Natural Heritage Program. For more information, please visit www.dncr.nc.gov.