March 2, 2007
SELINSGROVE, ( Pa. ) – Tom Bailey, associate professor of English and creative writing, has been awarded a $10,000 Individual Creative Artists Fellowship for fiction writing from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA). A total of 68 artists representing 22 counties in Pennsylvania received either $5,000 or $10,000 fellowships in support of their work this year.
“Artists Fellowships are a small but significant investment in the career development of Pennsylvania 's outstanding creative artists,” said Philip Horn, executive director of the Council. “These talented and energetic individuals help to foster a vibrant quality of life in their communities, and their works of art contribute to a cultural legacy that will enrich Pennsylvania 's future.”
Bailey is the author of two novels currently in print by Random House's Crown Publishing Group under the imprint of Shaye Areheart Books. His most recent release, Cotton Song, tells the story of one woman's fight to save an African-American child orphaned by the mob rule lynching of her mother in World War II-era Mississippi . Bailey other Random House release, The Grace That Keeps This World, is based on his Pushcart Prize-winning short story “Snow Dreams.” The novel won the 2006 fiction prize from the Mississippi Institute of Arts & Letters. The award puts Bailey in league with such authors as Walker Percy, Richard Ford and Rick Bass.
The goal of the PCA's Individual Creative Artists Division is to encourage and enable outstanding Pennsylvania artists of all backgrounds to perform their work and display it to the public. Recipients are recommended after a rigorous evaluation process where qualified arts professionals review applicants' work samples and support materials.
The Council works with partner organizations that provide administrative services for the PCA's Fellowship program, collaborating this year with the Institute for Cultural Partnerships, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, Pittsburgh Filmmakers, and the Pennsylvania Humanities Council.
Prior to joining the faculty of Susquehanna University in 1999, Bailey taught in the Expository Writing Program at Harvard University . His work has earned him a Newhouse Award from the John Gardner Foundation and a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship for fiction. It has been anthologized in New Stories from the South and been noted in The Best American Short Stories. In addition to his novels and collection of short stories, Bailey has published two instructional books with Oxford University Press, On Writing Short Stories and The Short Story Writer's Companion.
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Contact: Victoria Kidd
570-372-4119
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