John Sutton, John D. Nesbitt, and Chavawn Kelley have been named the recipients of 2008 creative writing fellowships in creative nonfiction from the Wyoming Arts Council.
John Sutton teaches English and works at the Learning Center at Sheridan College in Sheridan. He grew up in Indiana and lived in California and New York before moving to Wyoming. His winning manuscript is “Writing Floyd,” an excerpt from the book about his family history entitled Becoming White: A Family’s Journey from Slavery to Ku Klux Klan.
John D. Nesbitt is the author of numerous novels and short stories set in the American West. His most recent publications include a western novel, Raven Springs, and “Blue Horse Mesa,” a short story featured in the anthology Lost Trails. He lives in Torrington and teaches English and Spanish at Eastern Wyoming College. He received a 1988 WAC creative writing fellowship. His winning submission includes two chapters from a memoir, “Boy from the Country” and “Dunville.”
Chavawn Kelley of Laramie has appeared in publications such as Creative Nonfiction, Northern Lights, Quarterly West, Hayden’s Ferry Review, and Crossroads: A Southern Culture Annual. She’s been awarded the Neltje Blanchan Memorial Writing Award, the Frank Nelson Doubleday Memorial Writing Award, and a 2002 WAC creative writing fellowship. Her manuscript, “Two Mothers,” tells the story of a family’s adoption.
Each of the fellowship recipients will receive a $3,000 prize as well as a $500 stipend to read their work at the Casper College Literary Conference on Wednesday, Oct. 17, 7:30 p.m., in the Aley Fine Arts Center, Durham Hall. The event is free and open to the public. Judge for the competition, Nick Flynn, will participate in the reading along with the three winners.
Flynn, a memoirist and poet from New York City, also selected three writers for honorable mentions. They are April Heaney and Craig Arnold of Laramie and Diane Panozzo of Tie Siding.
For more information on the WAC’s fellowship programs, contact Mike Shay at 307-777-5234 or mshay@state.wy.us.
