Altoona, PA—The WCoNA Writers Conference of Northern Appalachia® (here and after WCoNA) is pleased to announce a call for nominations for its esteemed “Book of the Year” award. This annual prize celebrates writers whose work captures the essence of northern Appalachia.
Past winners have included Smoke to See By by Ben Moyer (Catamount/Sunbury Press), And It All Came Tumbling Down by Hannah Allman Kennedy (Watershed Journal Literary Group), Goshen Road by Bonnie Proudfoot (Swallow Press), and Appalachia North by Matthew Ferrence (West Virginia University Press).
About this award Piccirillo, WCoNA President says, “At WCoNA, our mission is to honor and elevate the remarkable authors and literature of northern Appalachia through programs accessible to all our writers. The Book of the Year team continues to seek and recognize work from emerging and seasoned authors who illuminate the heritage and evolving spirit of this distinct yet diverse part of the world, adding to a canon long overdue in the world of American letters.”
Eligibility Criteria
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Explores the diverse peoples, places, cultures, folk traditions, history, landscapes, and/or geography of northern Appalachia
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Published within the past two years (2023-2024) by traditional, independent, or academic publishers
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Nominated by its publisher or a WCoNA director
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Belongs to the genres of fiction, nonfiction, memoir, poetry, or essay
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Authored by a single writer
Nomination Process
To nominate a book, publishers are invited to email the Book of the Year Committee Chair, Kimberly McElhatten for the nomination form at kim.mcelhatten@wcona.com.
Nomination Deadline
Nominations will close November 1, 2024 at 11:59 pm.
The book of the year will be announced at our annual conference on March 8, 2025 at St. Francis University, Loretto, Pennsylvania. The author will receive a cash prize, award stickers for their books, and recognition at the conference and on our website. The winning author and their publisher will be invited to attend the conference to sell their books or appoint a representative on their behalf.
ABOUT WCONA
The Writers Conference of Northern Appalachia (WCONA) brings together writers and others interested in the region’s literature to honor our distinct body of work and to enhance the craft of our authors. WCoNA is a catalyst to inspire more novels, poetry, essays, history, memoir, drama, and other modes of literary writing that represent, in some way, northern Appalachia, and so create and promote a canon of writers and writing of northern Appalachia.
More information:
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kim.mcelhatten@wcona.com | www.wcona.com | 814-204-2077
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