Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award

2007

For “Chemistry and Other Stories”

PEN/Faulkner Award

2020

Mercer University’s Spencer B. King Jr. Center for Southern Studies

Sidney Lanier Prize for Southern Literature

2009

Finalist for the New York Times bestseller “Serena”

PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction

Ron Rash is one of the Carolina's most beloved authors, known in equal measure for his novels and his short fiction. He's the author of Serena, an award-winning 2008 novel about love and timber in depression-era North Carolina, and Something Rich and Strange, a 2014 collection of stories, and most recently 2020's In the Valley, a collection of stories and novella that follow up on Serena. Rash has won several awards for his writing, has been anthologised multiple times in the Best Short Stories of the year collections, and today is the Parris Distinguished Professor in Appalachian Cultural Studies at Western Carolina University. In this conversation David and Ron chat about the books he loved as a child, the books he reads when he's writing, and much, much more.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ron Rash

Ron Rash is one of the Carolina's most beloved authors, known in equal measure for his novels and his short fiction. He's the author of Serena, an award-winning 2008 novel about love and timber in depression-era North Carolina, and Something Rich and Strange, a 2014 collection of stories, and most recently 2020's In the Valley, a collection of stories and novella that follow up on Serena. Rash has won several awards for his writing, has been anthologised multiple times in the Best Short Stories of the year collections, and today is the Parris Distinguished Professor in Appalachian Cultural Studies at Western Carolina University. In this conversation David and Ron chat about the books he loved as a child, the books he reads when he's writing, and much, much more.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

Above the Waterfall: A Novel

The Cove: A Novel

Poems: New and Selected

Serena: A Novel

Something Rich and Strange: Selected Stories

Saints at the River: A Novel

The Night the New Jesus Fell to Earth: And Other Stories from Cliffside, North Carolina (Southern Revivals)

As the westernmost institution in the University of North Carolina System, WCU attracts students from around the globe for its nationally ranked programs, affordability through NC Promise and exceptional student support. Recognized as a top adventure college and surrounded by the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains, students can explore the region's vast natural diversity through unrivaled experiential learning and recreational activities. Offering residential, hybrid and online programs for undergraduate and graduate degrees at our main campus in Cullowhee, WCU in Asheville located at Biltmore Park, and wherever students are through distance learning.

Western Carolina University

Ron Rash is the author of the 2009 PEN/Faulkner finalist and New York Times bestseller Serena and Above the Waterfall, in addition to four prizewinning novels, including The Cove, One Foot in Eden, Saints at the River, and The World Made Straight; four collections of poems; and six collections of stories, among them Burning Bright, which won the 2010 Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award, and Chemistry and Other Stories, which was a finalist for the 2007 PEN/Faulkner Award. Twice the recipient of the O. Henry Prize, he teaches at Western Carolina University.

Southern Writing

Poetry

English

Appalachia

Novelist

Western Carolina University Faculty Profile

Encyclopedia.com Profile

Wikipedia Page

Amazon Author Profile

HarperCollins Publishers Author Profile

Macmillan Author Profile

Personal Website

Ron Rash to add Sidney Lanier Prize to his list of awards

The roots of Joy: Ron Rash and Western Carolina University

English faculty Claxton, Railsback contribute essays for book about Ron Rash's work

In new fiction from N.C. writer Ron Rash, life 'In the Valley' can be nasty, brutish and short

10 books that explore the brutal beauty of North Carolina's past and present

Author Talk: Ron Rash

Your home for all things related to the Close Reads podcast, plus reviews, interviews, essays, and more.  closereads.substack.com

Close Reads HQ

Bibliography is a conversation show for people who love books so much they keep a to-be-read pile. Featuring conversations with authors, artists, athletes, and other interesting people about the books that have made them who they are, that they have carried with them through all sorts of times, that they turn to for solace or pleasure or companionship. This is a conversation show about the way books make our lives richer. So if you love books, tune in each week to discover new titles, hear from kindred spirits, and celebrate this wonderful art form.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Bibliography

Professor

Ron Rash responds to a queston derived from Tara Beth Weekes Gleason - "I am an aspiring writer and former student of Ron's & would love to hear his advice for first time novelists! Would he recommend self-publishing or does he have any advice about how to expose your work to potential publishers? "

(Recorded at the Appalachian Women's Museum, now conducting a fundraiser to replace the roof of their home at the Monteith Farmstead in Dillsboro, NC: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/appalachian-women-s-museum)

Ron Rash  |  Thoughts For Aspiring Writers

Ron Rash, an American poet, short story writer and novelist, is the Parris Distinguished Professor in Appalachian Cultural Studies at Western Carolina University, and he's like you to study with him!

A personal invitation to study with Ron Rash

A panel discussion featuring Ron Rash, Nikki Giovanni, Scott Loring Sanders, Theresa Burris, and Appalachian Heritage editor George Brosi.

Appalachian Writers Panel Discussion

Ron Rash answers a question from Kristy Blankenship Sartain - "I thought Serena was my favorite book of yours until I read The Cove. I grew up in the mountains of NC and attended WCU, and I am amazed at how well you have captured the essence of rural mountain life. I now live at the other end of the state, in the Down East area of Carteret County. Have you ever considered writing a novel based in another part of NC? I have found that the people in this coastal area are similar in tenacity to the people in the mountains. Rural, hard-working, steeped in tradition. I think you would have fun with the accents and vocabulary you can find down here.  Thank you, thank you, thank you for writing. I am a librarian and never hesitate to recommend one of your novels to someone who wants a good meaty book."

(Recorded at the Appalachian Women's Museum, now conducting a fundraiser to replace the roof of their home at the Monteith Farmstead in Dillsboro, NC: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/appalachian-women-s-museum)

Ron Rash | Writing About A Single Region

"Too much too soon disappears." The sentiment in those five words, from the closing line of a 2002 poem, defines a life's work for Ron Rash. Since 2003 the holder of the John Parris Chair in Appalachian Studies at Western Carolina University, Rash is the author of fourteen books—novels, collections of short stories, and volumes of poetry. Evident in his work is respect for mountain people, language, history, and culture.
Rash has reaped a harvest of prizes, among them the Novello Festival Novel Award, the O. Henry Award, the Sir Walter Raleigh Award, and the Frank O'Connor Award. In 2004 his life and work was the focus of the annual literary festival at Emory and Henry College. In 2011 he was inducted into the Fellowship of Southern Writers.

2011 N.C. Award for Literature: Ron Rash

Author Ron Rash has done extensive research into meth addiction – which is in a state of crisis in rural Appalachia. Mr. Rash shares his insights into the powerful hold & tragic impact the drug has on its users & their loved ones.

Ronald Rash

Media

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Accomplishments

Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award

PEN/Faulkner Award

Sidney Lanier Prize for Southern Literature

PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction

Education

Gardner-Webb University

Clemson University

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