Presbyterian Writers Guild seeks best Presbyterian writer nominees

Group to honor winner at 223rd General Assembly (2018)

by Emily Enders Odom | Special to Presbyterian News Service

LOUISVILLE — The Presbyterian Writers Guild (PWG) is accepting nominations for its 2018 David Steele Distinguished Writer Award.

The award is given biennially in even-numbered years to recognize the cumulative work and influence — regardless of genre or subject matter — of a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) writer. The award will be presented at the PWG luncheon on Thursday, June 21, during the 223rd General Assembly (2018) in St. Louis.

Previous winners include The Message author Eugene H. Peterson, The Christian Century editor/publisher John M. Buchanan, former Presbyterian News Service director Marj Carpenter, former Presbyterians Today editor Eva Stimson, children’s author Kathleen Bostrom, Sabbath in the Suburbs author MaryAnn McKibben Dana, novelists Doris Betts and Katherine Paterson, the late poet Ann Weems, Kansas City Star columnist Bill Tammeus, African-American religious historian Gayraud Wilmore, essayists Kathleen Norris and Frederick Buechner, and journalists Gustav Niebuhr and the late Vic Jameson.

The award is named for R. David Steele, a Presbyterian pastor best known for his whimsical books of poetry and thought-provoking column, “Tuesday Morning,” in The Presbyterian Outlook.

Nominations for the award should include the writer’s PC(USA) affiliation, list of published work, and a 100-word essay describing why the nominee is deserving of the award. Contact information for both the nominator and the nominee must be included with each submission.

Send nominations to the Rev. Emily Odom, chair of the DSDW Award Selection Committee — which includes PWG board members, the Rev. Rebekah Hutto and the Rev. Bill Lancaster — by email or by postal mail to 2336 Strathmoor Blvd., Louisville, KY 40205.

All nominations must be emailed or postmarked by Dec. 15, 2017.

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The Rev. Emily Enders Odom is Director of Alumni/ae Relations at Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York and President of the Presbyterian Writers Guild.