The Georgia Writers Hall of Fame honors writers who have made significant contributions to the literary legacy of the state of Georgia. Established in 2000 by the University of Georgia Libraries’ Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, the Hall of Fame existed as a virtual presence until 2012, when it was given a physical space within the university's Richard B. Russell Building.
The Georgia Writers Hall of Fame accepts public nominations. New inductees are elected by a board of judges convened by the University of Georgia librarian. Writers are eligible for nomination if they were born in Georgia or if they produced an important work while living in the state.
It was hoped by the University of Georgia Libraries that the program "would attract donors by bringing living authors to campus and celebrating those of the past; also the ceremony and exhibits, ideally growing each year, could draw in funds for the Libraries' much-needed new buildings and its endowments, along with opening up possibilities for cultural programs and attracting additional writers (or their estates) who might choose to house their archives."
Inductees
- 2000
- Erskine Caldwell
- James Dickey
- W.E.B. Du Bois
- Joel Chandler Harris
- John Oliver Killens
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Sidney Lanier
- Augustus Baldwin Longstreet
- Carson McCullers
- Margaret Mitchell
- Flannery O'Connor
- Lillian Smith
- 2001
- Byron Herbert Reece
- 2002
- Harry Crews
- Jean Toomer
- Alice Walker
- 2003
- Conrad Aiken
- Elias Boudinot
- 2004
- Pat Conroy
- Henry W. Grady
- Ralph Emerson McGill
- 2006
- Jimmy Carter
- Terry Kay
- Frank Yerby
- 2007
- Caroline Miller
- Ferrol Sams
- Celestine Sibley
- Anne Rivers Siddons
- John Stone
- 2008
- Bailey White
- Calder Baynard Willingham, Jr.
- 2009
- Raymond Andrews
- Coleman Barks
- David Bottoms
- Robert Burch
- 2010
- Judith Ortiz Cofer
- Georgia Douglas Johnson
- Walter Francis White
- Philip Lee Williams
- 2011
- Melissa Fay Greene
- James Patrick Kilgo
- Johnny Mercer
- Natasha Trethewey
- 2013
- Toni Cade Bambara
- Judson Mitcham
- 2014
- Olive Ann Burns
- Mary Hood
- Alfred Uhry
- 2015
- Vereen Bell
- Taylor Branch
- Paul Hemphill
- Janisse Ray
- 2016
- Roy Blount Jr.
- Brainard Cheney
- Katharine DuPre Lumpkin
- James Alan McPherson
- Bill Shipp
- 2017
- James Cobb
- Alfred Corn
- Eugenia Price
- Kevin Young
- 2018
- Furman Bisher
- Michael Bishop
- Tayari Jones
- Frances Newman
- Cynthia Shearer
- 2019
- John T. Edge
- Julia Collier Harris
- A. E. Stallings
- 2020
- N/A
- 2021
- Valerie Boyd
- Jericho Brown
- Pearl Cleage
- John Lewis
- Thomas Lux
- Sue Monk Kidd
- Clarence Major
- 2023
- Daniel Boorstin
- Percival Everett
- Frances Mayes
References
