Friday, September 18, 2009
Oklahoma Writers Hall of Fame to Honor Joyce Carol Thomas FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TULSA – National Book Award winner Joyce Carol Thomas will be honored at the 14th Oklahoma Writers Hall of Fame Banquet on Oct. 6 at the Philbrook Museum of Art.  Joyce Carol Thomas "All of us in Oklahoma can be proud of what Joyce has accomplished. She has become the voice of our humanity," said Teresa Miller, executive director of the Center. Early in her career, Thomas taught African American studies at San Jose State College and served on the English faculty at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and Purdue University. Some of her other titles include “I Have Heard of a Land,” “The Gospel Cinderella,” “Crowning Glory,” “Gingerbread Days,” and “A Gathering of Flowers.” The event will also include memorial tributes to distinguished historian John Hope Franklin and Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Doug Marlette. In addition to the honorees, authors Billie Letts, P. C. Cast, Rilla Askew, Michael Wallis, Jay Cronley, Bill Bernhardt and Hannibal Johnson are also expected to attend. Acclaimed gospel singer Ernestine Dillard will also perform. The Oklahoma Writers Hall of Fame was established to honor Oklahoma writers who have made major contributions to American literature while living and writing in Oklahoma. Writers are nominated by the general public and selected by a jury of writers who have already been inducted. Tickets for the banquet are $40 each and registration closes Oct. 1. For more information or to purchase tickets, contact Miller at 918-594-8215. News Contacts: Mary Bea Drummond Trish McBeath |
