Texas authors, writers, and poets continue to shine brightly.  Since our last awards roundup, we’ve learned of even more impressive accolades and awards. Read on. 

APPOINTMENTS 

Nephtali De León was selected as San Antonio’s new poet laureate. He will hold the position for three years. According to the San Antonio Report, he “will focus on developing public events and programs meant to promote the art of poetry and deepen understanding of San Antonio culture.” 

Aris Kian has been named Houston Poet Laureate. According to the City of Houston Mayor’s Office, Kian will “work closely with MOCA and HPL to implement her Community Outreach Project, Space for Us: Afrofuturism and the Poetic Imagination. Brown will conduct a series of interviews with community members . . . and then stitch a poem utilizing those answers, allowing everyone to see the poetry that is 'already embedded in everyday people'.”

Cyrus Cassells has been named a 2023 University Distinguished Professor. The $5,000 Award is given annually to two tenured professors whose careers have been marked by considerable achievements in teaching, service, and scholarly/creative activities. Cyrus will retain this title for the remainder of his time at Texas State University. 

Matthew Pitt was selected as the 2023 writer-in-residence for the Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center in Piggott. A creative writing associate professor at TCU, Pitt will complete his novella THE BE-EVERYTHING! BROTHERS, due out at the end of the year. 

AWARDS 

Johnnie Bernhard received first place in the novel category from Press Women of Texas Communications Contest for HANNAH AND ARIELA. PWT was founded in 1893 and is an affiliate of the National Federation of Press Women. HANNAH AND ARIELA will proceed to the National Federation of Press Women competition to compete with other state winners. The book was also the University Press Week Book of the Year. 

Tracy Borgmeyer won bronze in The Wishing Shelf Book Awards For HALLEY HARPER, SCIENCE GIRL EXTRAORDINARE: SUMMER SET IN MOTION. The Wishing Shelf Book Awards is voted on by school children in the UK. 

David Bowles was honored to receive two Campoy-Ada awards from the North American Academy of Spanish Language and Texas San Antonio University. He noted, “It’s incredible to think that a Chicano from the border could have mastered Spanish enough – despite the education system’s effort to restrict his culture and language – to be awarded for his books in Spanish.” Additionally, his book THEY CALL HER FREGONA was listed in the Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year. 

Poet and author hal evans received the 2023 Gold Medal for Young Adult Fiction from the Nautilus Book Awards for his debut novel COME DAY IN NIGHT. Nautilus Books Awards "recognizes books that promote spiritual growth, conscious living . . . and social justice.” In the Teen: Fiction (13-18 years) category, COME DAY IN NIGHT was the 2023 Silver Winner Benjamin Franklin Award, one of the highest national honors for independent publishers, from the Independent Book Publishers Association. 

Michael J. Farlow received a Gold Award from Literary Titan for his novel, INSURRECTION. The awards are given out monthly to the most noteworthy books reviewed. 

Katherine Hoerth, author of FLARE STACKS IN FULL BLOOM, won the 2023 Summerlee Book Prize from The Center for History and Culture at Lamar University. “The Center awards two $1,000 prizes in non-fiction and creative categories for the best book-length publications that significantly contribute to our understanding of Southeast Texas and the greater Gulf Coast.”  

Robin Hollo earned several awards for two of her books recently. HOW MANY KITTENS CAN ONE GIRL HAVE? recently won a Mom’s Choice Award and won in 2 categories for the 2022 Story Monster Approved! Awards--Picture Book (ages 3-8) Fiction; and Making a Difference. A HALLOWEEN NIGHT CAPER won in 3 categories for the 2022 Story Monster Approved awards for--Middle Grade ages 8-12; Family Matters; and School Life. 

Margarita Longoria (LIVING BEYOND BORDERS) was chosen as a Library Journal 2023 Mover & Shaker in the Educators Category. A librarian at Mission High School, she founded the Border Book Bash festival to connect young adults to books and authors. 

UT professor Monica Muñoz Martinez was named a National Honoree in USA Today’s Women of the Year project honoring “local and national heroines who make a positive impact in their communities every day.” 

Chris Mullen’s book ROWDY~DEAD OR ALIVE was named Best Action/Adventure Western Manuscript in the 2023 Sunny Side Up Film Festival. 

Cynthia Leitich Smith received a Junior Library Guild Gold Medal for ANCESTOR APPROVED: INTERTRIBAL STORIES FOR KIDS! She extended congratulations to the contributors & cover artist Nicole Niedhardt. The book was published by Heartdrum with We Need Diverse Books. 

Jodi Lea Stewart’s THE GOLD ROSE garnered awards in the 2023 International Firebird Book Awards. Her book won 1st Place in War Fiction and Top 3 for Multicultural Fiction. This juried award program honors excellence in writing while also supporting shelters around the country to help those less fortunate. 

The PenCraft Book Awards announced winning Texas authors Rick Treon, 1st Place Winner: Fiction – Thriller – Terrorist for DIVIDED STATES from PenCraft Book Awards 2022, Rox Burkey & Charles Breakfield’s, 1st Place Winner: Fiction – Action for THE ENIGMA THREAT from PenCraft Book Awards 2021, and Marjorie Herrera Lewis, 1st Place Winner: Fiction – Historical War for WHEN THE MEN WERE GONE from PenCraft Book Awards 2020.  

Texas Authors Institute of History announced their 2023 Book Awards Winners including Texas authors Becki Wills (SUPERSTITIONS AND APPARITIONS / Cozy Mystery Fiction), Jan Sikes (JAGGED FEATHERS / Fiction Romance), Michael J. Farlow (RETRIBUTION: RECORDS OF THE ARGOS / SciFi Space Opera), Sharon Middleton (LOVE YOU FOREVER / SciFi Time Travel Romance), and Carrie Carter (WHISKERS ABROAD: ASHI AND AUDREY’S ADVENTURES IN JAPAN / Travel Book).