SELC annual writing contest underway; winners to be announced at Virginia Festival of the Book

The Southern Environmental Law Center is now accepting submissions for the annual Phillip D. Reed Memorial Award for Outstanding Writing on the Southern Environment. The award seeks to enhance public awareness of the richness and vulnerability of the region’s natural heritage by giving special recognition to writers who most effectively tell the stories about the South’s environment.

This year we welcome the addition of two renowned writers to our panel of judges. Marilou Awiakta is a poet and essayist who weaves her Cherokee/Appalachian heritage with science in books such as Abiding Appalachia: Where Mountain and Atom Meet. Based in Tennessee, Ms. Awiakta has won numerous awards and is a much-sought after lecturer. Author Janet Lembke splits her time between the Shenandoah Valley and the North Carolina coast which provide inspiration for books such as Touching Earth, Dangerous Birds, and River Time. A classics scholar, she received an NEA grant for a translation of a poem by Virgil about farming techniques in ancient Italy. (See below for other judges.)

The Reed Award has three categories: Journalism, for newspaper and magazine writing; Non-fiction Books, and Advocacy for short, unpublished essays. The primary judging criteria for all categories is the quality of writing. Prizes of $1,000 are awarded to the winner in each of the Journalism and Book categories, and $250 for the Advocacy category. The winners will be announced at SELC’s headquarters in Charlottesville, Virginia during the popular Virginia Festival of the Book in late March.

All submissions must be received by January 4, 2008. Submissions must relate to the natural resources in at least one of the following states: Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee or Virginia. Nominations can be made by anyone, including the author or publisher. Send 16 copies to Reed Award, SELC, 201 W. Main Street, Ste 14, Charlottesville, VA 22902. Submissions cannot be returned. For Journalism and Advocacy categories, provide a digital version to verify word length.

Journalism and Book categories:
• Published during calendar year 2006 or 2007.
• Must include at least 1 copy in original format for proof of publication.
• Minimum length of 3,000 words per entry. Awards may be split between two co-authors in each category. Submissions with more than two authors must indicate which two are being nominated. Each author must meet the minimum word requirement.

Advocacy category:
• Must be unpublished.
• Submissions between 2,000 and 5,000 words.
• Entries will be judged on: 1) excellence in writing, 2) research and knowledge of the subject, and 3) communicating a call to action.

Judges for the 2008 Reed Award are:

Marilou Awiakta – Poet and essayist whose writing weaves her Cherokee/Appalachian heritage with science; award winning author of Abiding Appalachia: Where Mountain and Atom Meet, and Selu: Seeking the Corn-Mother’s Wisdom.
H. Emerson Blake – Editor-in-Chief of Orion magazine; former publisher of Milkweed Editions; editor of numerous books on natural history and the environment.
Michael Carlton – Former editor of Yankee Magazine and Coastal Living; former features editor at Philadelphia Inquirer and Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Jan DeBlieu – Author of Wind, winner of the 1999 John Burroughs Medal for Distinguished Natural History Writing, and Year of the Comet; Cape Hatteras CoastKeeper.
Jim Detjen – Director, Knight Center for Environmental Journalism, MSU; founding president of Society of Environmental Journalists; former award-winning reporter for Philadelphia Inquirer.
David Gessner -- Author of Return of the Osprey, Sick of Nature, and The Prophet of Dry Hill; winner of the 2005 Pushcart Prize; Editor-in-Chief of Ecotone; on faculty at UNC Wilmington.
Janet Lembke – Author of Touching Earth, Dangerous Birds, and other nature books; translator of Greek and Latin classics; poems and essays have appeared in Audubon, Southern Review, and The New York Times Book Review.
Will Martin – Nashville-based attorney and businessman; former Dep. Asst. Secretary at NOAA; Senior Fellow for World Wildlife Fund; member SELC President’s Council.
Bill McKibben – Author of The End of Nature, Hope Human and Wild, and Enough; contributor to The New Yorker, Orion, and The Atlantic Monthly; visiting scholar Middlebury College.
Deaderick Montague – Civic leader, teacher and writer; guiding inspiration behind creation of the Phil Reed writing award; Vice President of SELC Board of Trustees.
Janisse Ray – Author of Ecology of a Cracker Childhood, Wild Card Quilt, and most recently Pinhook: Finding Wholeness in a Fragmented Land.
Charles Seabrook – Former veteran environmental reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution; author of Cumberland Island and other books; Phil Reed winner in 1998.
Donovan Webster – Author of The Burma Road and After-math: The Remnants of War; former editor of Outside; contributor to New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, and National Geographic.

The award is named in memory of SELC founding trustee Phillip D. Reed, a talented attorney and committed environmental activist who helped guide our organization through the early years before his untimely death in 1993.