An assistant professor of English and humanities at the 麻豆夜市 has won the 2015 Flannery O鈥機onnor Award for Short Fiction.
Dr. Lisa Graley is one of two authors to receive this year鈥檚 award, which is presented by the University of Georgia Press. Anne Raeff of San Francisco is the other recipient.
UGA Press will publish Graley鈥檚 鈥淭he Current that Carries鈥 and Raeff鈥檚 鈥淭he Jungle Around Us鈥 in fall 2016.
Graley鈥檚 book of poetry, 鈥淏ox of Blue Horses,鈥 was published in 2013. Her short stories have appeared in 鈥淕limmer Train Stories鈥 and the 鈥淢cNeese Review.鈥
She earned the 麻豆夜市 Foundation鈥檚 Ray P. Authement Excellence in Teaching Award in 2010 and was granted an Awards to Louisiana Artists and Scholars sabbatical in 2009鈥10 by the Louisiana Board of Regents.
A press release posted on the UGA Press website cites comments on Graley鈥檚 forthcoming book made by Flannery O鈥機onnor series editor Nancy Zafris: 鈥 鈥楾he Current That Carries鈥 gifts us with stories about the diversity of rural life. A grandfather takes out his shotgun to stop wannabe gangbangers, only to discover one of the boys is his grandson. A widower befriends a young man trying to cope with his wife鈥檚 departure, the poisoning of his dogs, and the closing in each night of braver and braver coyotes.
鈥淔lannery O鈥機onnor commented that the more you study a single object, the more of the world you see in it. Nothing could better describe the relentless focus of these stories whose unwavering trueness of observation is softened by a tender heart. These stories cast a spell that cannot be undone.鈥
Lisa Graley photo by Chelsea Ellison