Southern Lit Alliance is pleased to announce that the annual Barnett Prize for Local Distinguished Author has been awarded to Roy Morris Jr.
This is the second year for the Barnett Prize, which is awarded annually to recognize an outstanding local author. The winning author was selected based on their demonstrated lifetime work as an author, awards, other reviews, and the quality of their writing in their submitted sample.
Nominees worked in the various genres of fiction, non-fiction, short story or poetry. The award is offered through the generosity of Warren Barnett, art philanthropist and President of Barnett & Company, a firm offering personalized investment council in Chattanooga for 35 years.
The winner, Roy Morris Jr., has published nine books on American history and literature, most recently “Gertrude Stein Has Arrived: The Homecoming of a Literary Legend” (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2019).
His books have covered a range of topics, including books on Mark Twain, Abraham Lincoln, Walt Whitman, Oscar Wilde, Ambrose Bierce, the stolen presidential election of 1876 and Union general Phil Sheridan. He is a current contributing editor to MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History, and has spent the last 35 years writing eight books about American literature and history.
With a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and a Master’s from University of Tennessee at Knoxville, and a 1968 graduate of Brainerd High School, he began his career in 1972 as a staff writer for the Chattanooga News—Free Press, then moved over to the Chattanooga Times (the first person to do so after the two newspapers ended their joint publishing agreement). His writing has been featured in numerous prestigious publications, including Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, the New Criterion, and Boston Globe.
A lifelong Chattanoogan, Morris Jr. has served for nearly four decades as a writer and editor for a variety of popular-history magazines, including stints as editor of Military History, Military Heritage, Wild West, Sports History, America’s Civil War and Civil War Quarterly. From 2004 to 2007 he was special projects editor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where he edited a series of three scholarly books for Purdue University Press, drawn from UTC’s annual Symposium on the 19th Century Press, the Civil War and Freedom of Expression.
Throughout his career, it’s always been important to Roy to nurture and help out budding writers, often going out of his way to help them start their careers by publishing their work in his magazines. Roy currently resides in North Chattanooga with his wife, Leslie, and their mixed-breed terrier, Duncan.
Two finalists and one Honorable Mention were recognized for this award. The other two finalists were Dr. Earl Braggs, a professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and author of “House on Fontanka” and Sam Elliot, author of “John C. Brown of Tennessee: Rebel, Redeemer, and Railroader.” Our honorable mention goes to Jason Tinney for his “Ripple Meets the Deep.”
The Southern Literature Alliance will be holding a virtual event on October 8th at 7 p.m. to award the Barnett Prize to Morris Jr. Roy will take this opportunity to showcase his work and discuss his career with us.
This year’s judges on the panel are:
- Sunny Montomgery is the digital editor for Get Out Chattanooga magazine and writer and editor for Chatter magazine.
- Dr. Nick Mansito, Assistant Professor of English at Chattanooga State Community College. Dr. Mansito has authored two poetry collections, “3rd & 7th” and “Miscellaneous Debris.”
- Dr. Victoria Bryan is Dean of the Honors College and Academic Enhancement at Cleveland State University.
About Southern Lit Alliance
Southern Lit Alliance is a longstanding literary arts organization in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It was founded in 1952, and its mission is to deliver literary arts experiences that encourage people to read and write. The nonprofit engages audiences through innovative literary arts events and educational enrichment in local schools and underserved communities throughout the Chattanooga area.
For more information about Southern Lit Alliance, please visit www.southernlitalliance.org or call 423-777-4221. Southern Lit Alliance is funded by a grant from the Tennessee Arts Commission and Arts Build
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