Margaret McMullan, a University of Evansville professor of creative writing and the Melvin M. Peterson Endowed Chair in Literature and Writing, delivered the keynote address at the Indiana Authors Award Dinner on Saturday, October 29, at Indianapolis’ Central Library. McMullan, the author of six novels, also accepted the National Author award at the event.
In July, McMullan was named the winner of the top prize in the 2011 Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Award program. This annual award recognizes the contributions of Hoosier authors to the literary landscape in Indiana and across the nation.
McMullan won the National Author category, which recognizes a writer who has Indiana ties but whose work is known and read throughout the country. The award includes a $10,000 prize.
“I am so honored to be named this year’s national recipient of the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Award,†McMullan said. “I moved to Indiana about 21 years ago to teach at the University of Evansville, and I’ve grown to love this state, its people, and its strong literary heritage. I feel privileged and humbled to be a part of it.â€
This spring, nominations for the Indiana Authors Award were submitted in the categories of National Author, Regional Author, and Emerging Author. From the pool of nominees, McMullan was selected as the National Author award winner by a 10-member, statewide award panel.
A recipient of a 2010 NEA Fellowship in literature and a 2010 Fulbright at the University of Pécs in Pécs, Hungary, McMullan is the author of six award-winning novels. Her latest book, Sources of Light, is an American Library Association 2011 Best Book for Young Adults and a Chicago Public Library Teen Selection. Actors from Indianapolis’ Young Actors Theatre performed excerpts from Sources of Light at the Indiana Authors Award Dinner. Margaret’s work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, National Geographic for Kids, Southern Accents, and The Sun, among other journals and anthologies.
The Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Award is a program of the Indianapolis Public Library Foundation and is funded through the Glick Fund, a fund of the Central Indiana Community Foundation.
To learn more about the Indiana Authors Award, please click here.
