Author couple receives Hall-Waters Prize

Students and faculty gathered in the Trojan Center Ballrooms Friday morning to hear from award-winning authors Tom Franklin and Beth Ann Fennelly, the 2026 Hall-Waters Prize recipients. 

The Hall-Waters Prize honors distinguished writers whose work contributes to Southern literature. Franklin and Fennelly are the first duo to receive the award. 

The husband-and-wife authors previously collaborated on their 2013 historical novel “The Tilted World,” set in Mississippi during Prohibition and the Great Mississippi Flood. During their visit, Franklin and Fennelly spoke on a panel, answering questions and discussing their careers in literature. 

“[Winning the Hall-Waters Prize] feels great,” Fennelly said. “We’re deeply honored by it. 

“It’s so fun to win it together and to be here together. It’s especially nice to come to a place where students are so well prepared to receive you because they’ve read your work in advance. 

“They’ve prepared in every way, and it makes the experience warm and lovely.” 

The event was organized by students in Dr. Kirk Curnutt’s senior seminar class, who spent the semester planning the Hall-Waters Ceremony. Tianna Burbank, a student in Curnutt’s class and senior English major from Kinston, Alabama, said seeing the event come together was rewarding. 

“I feel a bunch of pride, not only for myself, but towards my classmates,” Burbank said. “We all put in so much work. 

“Seeing it come to fruition and seeing them do such a wonderful job is an incredible feeling.” 

During the panel, Franklin discussed his writing process, describing how his best work comes when characters begin to act on their own. 

“I said [on the panel] it’s better than sex, drugs or rock and roll,” Franklin said. “This kind of miracle is happening between your brain and your hands. 

“I’ve never experienced anything else like that, it’s nuts. It doesn’t always happen, but when it does, time will just fly by.” 

Fennelly also addressed the decline in reading in modern society and emphasized its importance. 

“I feel that reading is almost a radical act right now because so few people do it,” Fennelly said. “The way it's affecting our cognition and making us less able to consolidate information makes us vulnerable to things like demagoguery. 

“Our cognitive powers are declining due to our lack of reading. To be with a group of vibrant English majors who are so well versed gives me hope that there's going to be enough people who are retaining their skills that we're going to make it.” 

Following the panel, the authors were formally awarded the Hall-Waters Prize at a luncheon, each receiving a $5,000 honor recognizing their contributions to Southern literature.