Brad Watson, Associate Professor for the Creative Writing Program, has been named the recipient of the 2017 Harper Lee Award, which is given to a living writer with Alabama roots, who has excelled in the field.
According to the Alabama State Council on the Arts, The Harper Lee Award honors writers who have had a lifetime of literary achievement. It is named for Harper Lee, the Alabama author of To Kill A Mockingbird.
“If you look at the list of past winners, you see writers with Alabama roots who’ve achieved national and international recognition for their work,” Watson said. “It’s an Alabama-based award but it’s really an American award, a national award. I’m very pleased to join the list of those who’ve received it.”
Watson has spent a lifetime cultivating his work as an author, and attributes his success to “stubborn persistence”. He began writing while attending junior college in Meridian, Mississippi, and has been working ever since.
“It took a long time for me to write anything good enough for anyone to publish,” Watson said.
The Harper Lee Award recognizes all of the work Watson has done up to this point in his career, which includes several fiction novels and collections of short stories.
As a teacher at UW, Watson continually mentors students who are interested in becoming creative writers themselves.
“I’m proud of the many, many young writers who’ve come through our MFA in creative writing, many of whom have had great success in publishing, teaching, and other careers.,” Watson said.
Watson’s work at the University of Wyoming has contributed to the Creative Writing Program’s national success as well. Alyson Hagy of the Creative Writing Program said Watson has had a significant impact on the department since coming aboard in 2005.
“Brad Watson is one of the great talents of his generation,” Hagy said. “As a teacher, Watson is good-humored, patient and wise, and writers of all levels love working with him. He is a key contributor to UW’s nationally recognized Creative Writing Program.”
Jeffery Lockwood, director of the Creative Writing Program, said Watson’s ability to be a nationally recognized writer while still inspiring students in the classroom is significant.
“While Brad Watson is being recognized as a literary gift to the nation, keep in mind that this extraordinary author is in the classroom teaching Wyoming’s young people the ins and outs of writing fiction,” Lockwood said. “Not many universities provide this intimacy between undergraduates and leaders in the arts.”
Earning the Harper Lee Award is an honor for Watson, but he said receiving accolades has never been his primary goal.
“I’d still be writing if I’d never won this or any other award. But this is a prestigious honor and it certainly does no damage to your resume,” Watson said.
Watson will receive the award in Harper Lee’s hometown Monroeville, Alabama, the setting for her novel, To Kill A Mockingbird in mid April.
