Award Winners
Since 1980, the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters has recognized outstanding artistic and literary achievement connected to the state. These winners represent the pinnacle of Mississippi's creative heritage.
2026 Winners
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Addie Citchens
Anne E. Marshall
Lauren Rhoades
Saddiq Dzukogi
Derrick Barnes
Cecil Price Walden
Fiction
Nonfiction
life writing
poetry
Youth literature
Musical Composition (Classical)
Dominion
Cassius Marcellus Clay: The Life of an Antislavery Slaveholder and the Paradox of the American Reform
Split the Baby
Bakandamiya: An Elegy
I Got You: A Brother's Promise
some glad morningÂ
Molly Thomas
Kat FitzpatrickÂ
Jerrod Partridge
Attic GalleryÂ
Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Conference
Ellen Ann Fentress
musical Composition (Contemporary)
Photography
visual arts
citation of merit
citation of merit
special Achievement
Tumble Home
Mockingbird Gallery Exhibit
Call Home
Eyes on Mississippi
David Rae Morris
Special Achievement
My Mind to Me a Kingdom Is
Richard Ford
noel polk lifetime achievement award
1980
LITERATURE
ELLEN DOUGLAS
THE ROCK CRIED OUT
ART
ED MCGOWIN
MUSIC
LUIGI ZANINELLI
FIVE FOLK SONGS
1981
LITERATURE
WALKER PERCY
THE SECOND COMING
ART
RAY PARRISH
MUSIC
JAMES S. SCLATER
1982
LITERATURE
ELLEN GILCHRIST
IN THE LAND OF DREAMY DREAMS
ART
VALERIE JAUDON
MUSIC
WILLIAM GRANT STILL (posthumously)
1983
LITERATURE
ELLEN DOUGLAS
A LIFETIME BURNING
ART
GEORGE WARDLAW
MUSIC
PATRICK HOULIHAN
1984
LITERATURE
REBECCA HILL
BLUE RISE
ART
JAMES L. SEAWRIGHT JR.
MUSIC
PATRICK HOULIHAN
1985
LITERATURE
ELLEN GILCHRIST
VICTORY OVER JAPAN
ART
WILLIAM DUNLAP
MUSIC
LUIGI ZANINELLI
1986
JOHN STONE
RENAMING THE STREETS
ART
KENNETH W. MARLOW
SPECIAL WRITING AWARD
DOROTHY ABBOTT
MUSIC
SAMUEL JONES
PHOTOGRAPHY
ROBERT TOWNSEND JONES JR.Â
1987
LITERATURE
RICHARD FORD
THE SPORTWRITER
VISUAL ART
KE FRANCIS
MUSIC
DAVID CAUDILL
PHOTOGRAPHY
BIRNEY IMES III
1988
LITERATURE
WALKER PERCY
The Thanatos Syndrome
VISUAL ART
ZARAH MARANIAN
Noel Polk Lifetime Achievement Award
EUDORA WELTY
MUSIC
MILTON BABBITT
PHOTOGRAPHY
MAUDE S. CLAY
1989
LITERATURE
LARRY BROWN
FACING THE MUSIC
VISUAL ART
MILDRED NUNGESTER WOLFE
Noel Polk Lifetime Achievement Award
WALTER ANDERSON (posthumously)
MUSIC
PAUL OVERSTREET
PHOTOGRAPHY
RITA DEWITT
1990
LITERATURE
RICK BASS
THE WATCH
VISUAL ART
RANDY HAYES
SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENTÂ
WILLIAM FERRIS + CHARLES REAGAN WILSON
MUSIC
JAMES S. SCLATER
PHOTOGRAPHY
WILLIAM EGGLESTON
1991
LITERATURE
I CANNOT GET YOU CLOSE ENOUGH
ELLEN GILCHRIST
VISUAL ART
BIRNEY IMES III
MUSIC
SAMUEL JONES
1992
FICTION
MUSIC OF THE SWAMP
LEWIS NORDAN
VISUAL ART
RON DALEÂ
NONFICTION
MICHAEL B. BALLARD
Pemberton: A BiographyÂ
MUSIC
LUIGI ZANINELLI
PHOTOGRAPHY
MAUDE S. CLAY
CAREER ACHIEVEMENT IN THE PERFORMING ARTS
JANE REID PETTY
1993
FICTION
THE SECRET HISTORY
DONNA TARTT
VISUAL ART
JERE H. ALLEN
PHOTOGRAPHY
ALLEN FRAME
NONFICTION
CHALMERS ARCHER and CLIFTON TAULBERT
GROWING UP BLACK IN RURAL MISSISSIPPIÂ
THE LAST TRAIN NORTHÂ
1994
FICTION
BATS OUT OF HELL
BARRY HANNAH
VISUAL ART
GREELY MYATT
MUSIC
DOUGLAS MCCONNELL
PHOTOGRAPHY
TOM RANKIN
NONFICTION
WILLIE MORRIS
NEW YORK DAYS
1995
FICTION
THE TRACK OF REAL DESIRES
BEVERLY LOWRY
VISUAL ART
SYLVAIN KLAUS
MUSIC
JAMES S. SCLATER
CITATION OF MERIT
ETV AND PUBLIC RADIO IN MISSISSIPPIÂ
PHOTOGRAPHY
BIRNEY IMES III
NONFICTION
MARY GARRARD
The Power of Feminist Art: The American Movement of the 1970s, History and Impact
Noel Polk Lifetime Achievement Award
FRANKE AND BERN KEATINGÂ
1996
FICTION
THE SHARPSHOOTER BLUES
LEWIS NORDAN
VISUAL ART
CHARLES CARRAWAY
MUSIC
LAURENCE M. ODENÂ
PHOTOGRAPHY
MILLY MOORHEAD
NONFICTION
DAVID HERBERT DONALD
LINCOLN
Noel Polk Lifetime Achievement Award
LEE AND PUP MCCARTY
1997
FICTION
THE WONDER BOOK OF AIR
CYNTHIA SHEARER
VISUAL ART
VALERIE JAUDON
MUSIC
MARK HOWELL
PHOTOGRAPHY
MARION BROWN
NONFICTION
STEPHEN AMBROSE
UNDAUNTED COURAGE
POETRY
PAUL RUFFIN
1998
FICTION
MARGARET CAPE
WYLENE DUNBAR
VISUAL ART
WILLIAM DUNLAP
MUSIC
LUIGI ZANINELLI
SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT
MARION BARNWELL
PHOTOGRAPHY
HUBERT F. WORLEY JR.Â
NONFICTION
WILL D. CAMPBELL
Will Campbell: Radical Prophet of the South
POETRY
ANGELA BALL
1999
FICTION
TRUTH: FOUR STORIES I AM FINALLY OLD ENOUGH TO TELL
ELLEN DOUGLAS
VISUAL ART
JEAN CAPPADONNA-NICHOLS
MUSIC
JAMES SCLATER
PHOTOGRAPHY
LUDINDA DEVLIN
NONFICTION
PATTI CARR BLACK
ART IN MISSISSIPPIÂ
POETRY
JOHN STONE
2000
Noel Polk Lifetime Achievement Award
LEONTYNE PRICE
Photography
MAUDE SCHUYLER CLAY
Poetry
D. C. BERRYÂ
Nonfiction
EDWARD COHEN
THE PEDDLER'S GRANDSON
Citation of Merit
UNIVERSITY PRESS OF MISSISSIPPI
Visual Arts
PAULA TEMPLE
Fiction
STEVE YARBROUGH
THE OXYGEN MAN
MusicÂ
LUIGI ZANINELLI
2001
Photography
EUDORA WELTY
Poetry
NATASHA TRETHEWEY
Nonfiction
JEFF DURSTEWITZ AND RUTH WILLIAMS
YOUNGER THAN THAT NOW: A SHARED PASSAGE FROM THE SIXTIES
Visual Arts
COLLIER B. PARKER
Fiction
HOWARD BAHR
THE YEAR OF JUBILO
2002
Photography
JOHN D. LAWRENCE
Poetry
BROOKS HAXTON
Nonfiction
BOBBY DELAUGHTER
Never Too Late: A Prosecutor's Story of Justice in the Medgar Evars Case
Visual Arts
SHEILA STOTT GOURLAY
Fiction
BARRY HANNAH
YONDER STANDS YOUR ORPHAN
MUSIC
MICHAEL KIMBER
2003
Photography
JACK KOTZ
Poetry
NATASHA TRETHEWEY
Nonfiction
MINOR FERRIS BUCHANAN
Holt Collier: His Life, His Roosevelt Hunts, and the Origin of the Teddy Bear
Visual Arts
GWENDOLYN MAGEE
Fiction
BRAD WATSON
The Heaven of Mercury
MUSIC
SAMUEL JONES AND JAMES SCLATER
Noel Polk Lifetime Achievement Award
MIMI GARRARD AND JAMES SEAWRIGHT
2004
Noel Polk Lifetime Achievement Award
SHELBY FOOTE
Poetry
ANN FISHER-WIRTH
Nonfiction
EDWARD COHEN
THE PEDDLER'S GRANDSON
Visual Arts
WYATT WATERS
Fiction
TOM FRANKLIN
HELL AT THE BREECH
MusicÂ
LOGAN SKELTON
2005
PHOTOGRAPHYÂ
GRETCHEN HAIEN
Poetry
BROOKS HAXTON
Nonfiction
TIMOTHY B. SMITH
Visual Arts
SAM GILLIAM
Fiction
MARGARET MCMULLAN
IN MY MOTHER'S HOUSE
MusicÂ
JUSTIN SHARP
2006
PHOTOGRAPHYÂ
ROBYN MOORE
Visual Arts
THOMAS NAWROCKI
Nonfiction
SUZANNE MARRSÂ
Fiction
EUDORA WELTY: A BIOGRAPHY
THE GRACE THAT KEEPS THIS WORLD
TOM BAILEY
MusicÂ
ANDREW OWEN
2007
Noel Polk Lifetime Achievement Award
MORGAN FREEMAN AND MYRNA COLLEY LEE
Nonfiction
JERE NASH AND ANDY TAGGART
Mississippi Politics: The Struggle for Power, 1976-2006
Photography
DEBRA FERGUSON
Music
SAMUEL JONES
Fiction
RICHARD FORDÂ
THE LAY OF THE LAND
Visual Arts
WILLIAM DUNLAP
Poetry
NATASHA TRETHEWEY
2008
Noel Polk Lifetime Achievement Award
ELLEN DOUGLAS
Nonfiction
JOSEPH CRESPINO
In Search of Another Country: Mississippi and the Conservative CounterrevolutionÂ
Photography
TALBOT EASTON SHELBY
Music
ALBERT OPPENHEIMER
Fiction
MARGARET MCMULLAN
When I Crossed No-BobÂ
Visual Arts
CARLYLE WOLFE
Poetry
ANGELA BALL
2009
Noel Polk Lifetime Achievement Award
MARSHALL BOULDIN III and ELIZABETH SPENCER
Nonfiction
DOUGLAS A. BLACKMON
Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War IIÂ
Photography
JANE RULE BURDINE
Music (CLASSICAL)
STEVE ROUSE
Fiction
HOWARD BAHRÂ
PELICAN ROAD
Visual Arts
H. C. PORTER
Poetry
BROOKS HAXTON
Music (CONTEMPORARY)
3 DOORS DOWN
2010
Noel Polk Lifetime Achievement Award
WILLIAM FERRISÂ
Nonfiction
CHARLES EAGLESÂ
The Price of Defiance
Photography
MICHAEL LOYD YOUNG
Music (CLASSICAL)
SHANDY PHILLIPS
SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT
THE PASSIONS OF WALTER ANDERSON (creative collaboration)
Fiction
FREDERICK BARTHELME
WAVELAND
Visual Arts
CHARLES CROSSLEY
Poetry
D. C. BERRY
Music (CONTEMPORARY)
CAROLINE HERRING
2011
Noel Polk Lifetime Achievement Award
MARY D. GARRARD
Nonfiction
NATASHA TRETHEWEYÂ
Beyond Katrina: A Meditation on the Mississippi Gulf CoastÂ
Photography
ORAIEN CATLEDGE
Music (CLASSICAL)
SAMUEL JONES and JAMES SCLATER
Fiction
BRAD WATSON
Aliens in the Prime of Their Lives
Visual Arts
ROLLAND GOLDEN
Poetry
AVA LEAVELL HAYMON
Music (CONTEMPORARY)
EDEN BRENTÂ
2012
Noel Polk Lifetime Achievement Award
ANDREW BUCCI and SAMUEL GORE
Nonfiction
SUSAN HALTOM
One Writer's Garden: Eudora Welty's Home Place
Photography
BETTY PRESS
Music (CLASSICAL)
SHANDY PHILLIPS
Fiction
MICHAEL KARDOS
ONE LAST GOOD TIME
Visual Arts
ROD MOORHEAD
Poetry
T.R. HUMMER
Music (CONTEMPORARY)
KATE CAMPBELL
2013
Noel Polk Lifetime Achievement Award
PATTI CARR BLACKÂ
Nonfiction
JOSEPH CRESPINO
Strom Thurmond's AmericaÂ
Photography
DAVID WHARTON
Music (CLASSICAL)
STEVE ROUSE
Fiction
RICHARD FORDÂ
CANADA
Visual Arts
LEE RENNINGER
Poetry
CATHERINE PIERCE
Music (CONTEMPORARY)
CAROLINE HERRINGÂ
2014
Noel Polk Lifetime Achievement Award
WILLIAM BECKWITHÂ
Nonfiction
JESMYN WARD
MEN WE REAPED
Photography
MILLY WEST
Music (CLASSICAL)
QUINCY C. HILLIARD
Fiction
STEVE YARBROUGH
THE REALM OF LOST CHANCESÂ
Visual Arts
J J FOLEYÂ
Poetry
DERRICK HARRIELL
Music (CONTEMPORARY)
CLAIRE HOLLEY
2015
Noel Polk Lifetime Achievement Award
SAMMY BRITT
Nonfiction
DENNIS J. MITCHELL
A New History of Mississippi
Photography
MAUDE SCHUYLER CLAYÂ
Music (CLASSICAL)
CRAFTON BECK
Fiction
ELIZABETH SPENCER
STARTING OVER
Visual Arts
BRANDON MOONÂ
Poetry
TIMOTHY EARLEYÂ
Music (CONTEMPORARY)
WATER LIARS
2016
Noel Polk Lifetime Achievement Award
WILLIAM BAGGETT and RON DALE
Nonfiction
JOSEPH T. REIFF
Born of Conviction: White Methodists and Mississippi's Closed Society
Photography
MAUDE SCHUYLER CLAYÂ
Music (CLASSICAL)
SAMUEL JONES
Fiction
TAYLOR KITCHINGS
YARD WAR
Visual Arts
MARTHA FERRISÂ
Poetry
R. FLOWERS RIVERA
Music (CONTEMPORARY)
MAC MCANALLY
2017
Noel Polk Lifetime Achievement Award
JERE ALLEN and SAMUEL JONES
Nonfiction
JASON MORGAN WARD
Hanging Bridge: Racial Violence and America's Civil Rights CenturyÂ
Photography
DAVID WHARTON
Music (CLASSICAL)
JAMES S. SCLATER
SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT
Nan Sanders
Fiction
RICK BASS
For a Little While: New and Selected Stories
Visual Arts
CARLYLE WOLFE
Poetry
CATHERINE PIERCE
Music (CONTEMPORARY)
FISH MICHIE and KRISTIAN DAMBRINO
CITATION OF MERIT
THACKER MOUNTIAN RADIO
2018
Noel Polk Lifetime Achievement Award
ROBERT IVY and ANDREW CARY YOUNG
Nonfiction
JOHN T. EDGE
The Potlikker Papers: A Food History of the Modern SouthÂ
Photography
JACK SPENCER
Music (CLASSICAL)
JAMES S. SCLATER
SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT
THE MISSISSIPPI ENCYLOPEDIA
Fiction
MICHAEL KNIGHT
Eveningland
Visual Arts
CHARLIE BUCKLEY
Poetry
MOLLY MCCULLY BROWN
Music (CONTEMPORARY)
SHANNON MCNALLY
2019
Noel Polk Lifetime Achievement Award
JOHN RUSKEY
Nonfiction
JULIAN RANKIN
CATFISH DREAMS
Photography
RORY DOYLE
Music (CLASSICAL)
STEVE ROUSE
CITATION OF MERIT
SQUARE BOOKS
Fiction
TIFFANY QUAY TYSON
THE PAST IS NEVER
Visual Arts
COULTER FUSSELL
Poetry
AIMEE NEZHUKUMATATHIL
Music (CONTEMPORARY)
JOHN MILHAM
2020
Noel Polk Lifetime Achievement Award
ANNE J. ABADIE
Nonfiction
MARGARET MCMULLAN
Where The Angels Lived
Photography
WILL JACKS
Music (CLASSICAL)
STEVE ROUSE
CITATION OF MERIT
LEMURIA BOOKSTORE
SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENTÂ
MISSISSIPPI DELTA TENNESSEE WILLIAMS FESTIVALÂ
Fiction
MINROSE GWIN
The Accidentals
Visual Arts
STACEY JOHNSON
Poetry
C. T. SALAZAR
Music (CONTEMPORARY)
JOHN MILHAM
YOUTH LITERATURE
ANGIE THOMAS
2021
Noel Polk Lifetime Achievement Award
REA HEDERMAN
Nonfiction
EDDIE S. GLAUDE JR.Â
Begin Again: James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own
Photography
ANDREA MORALES
Music (CLASSICAL)
JAMES SCLATER
CITATION OF MERIT
LEMURIA BOOKSTORE
Fiction
ODIE LINDSEYÂ
Some Go HomeÂ
Visual Arts
CATHY HEGMAN
Poetry
CATHERINE PIERCE
Music (CONTEMPORARY)
STEVE AZAR
YOUTH LITERATURE
DEBORAH WILES
2022
Noel Polk Lifetime Achievement Award
WILLIAM DUNLAP and KENNETH HOLDITCH
Nonfiction
W. RALPH EUBANKS
When It's Darkness on the Delta: How America's Richest Soil Became Its Poorest Land
LIFE WRITINGÂ
TERESA NICHOLS
The Mama Chronicles
Photography
ASHLEIGH BURKE COLEMAN
Music (CLASSICAL)
STEVE ROUSE
CITATION OF MERIT
MPB'S GRASSROOTS, Bill Ellison andÂ
HIGHWAY 61, SCOTT BARRETTA
Fiction
BECKY HAGENSTON
The Age of Discovery
Visual Arts
JENNIFER TORRES
YOUTH LITERATURE
ANGIE THOMAS
Concrete Rose
Poetry
JOSHUA NGUYEN
Music (CONTEMPORARY)
CHRISTONE "KINGFISH" INGRAM
SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT
PATRICK O'CONNOR
LOOK AWAY, LOOK AWAY
2023
Noel Polk Lifetime Achievement Award
PANNY FLAUTT MAYFIELD
Nonfiction
ROBERT S. MCELVAINE
Times They Were A-Changin': 1964, the Year the Sixties Arrived and the Battle Lines of Today Were Drawn
LIFE WRITING
BERKLEY HUDSON
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Possum Town
Photography
DAVID RAE MORRIS
Music (CLASSICAL)
STEVE ROUSE
Fiction
SARAH ADLAKHA
She Wouldn't Change a Thing
Visual Arts
COULTER FUSSELL
YOUTH LITERATUREÂ
LINDA WILLIAMS JACKSON
The Lucky Ones
Poetry
MELISSA GINSBURG
Music (CONTEMPORARY)
JOHNNY RAWLS
SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT
TUPELO READS
2024
Noel Polk Lifetime Achievement Award
CURTIS WILKIE
Nonfiction
CHARLES REAGAN WILSON
The Southern Way of Life: Meanings of Culture and Civilization in the American South
LIFE WRITING
LEE DURKEE
Stalking Shakespeare
Photography
KATE MEDLEY
Music (CLASSICAL)
STEVE ROUSE
Fiction
JESMYN WARD
Let Us Descend
Visual Arts
JENNIFER DRINKWATER
YOUTH LITERATUREÂ
ANGIE THOMAS
The Manifestor ProphecyÂ
Poetry
A. H. AVANT
Music (CONTEMPORARY)
BARK (TIM and SUSAN LEE)
SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT
STEPHEN COLEMAN
2025
Noel Polk Lifetime Achievement Award
JOHN F. MARSZALEK
Special Achievement
ERIN AUSTEN ABBOTT
Photography
ADAM SHEMPER
Nonfiction
ROBERT K. D. COLBY
Life Writing
JULIAN RANDALL
Music Composition (Classical)
JOHN WOOTON
Citation of Merit
THAD LEE
Visual Arts
CHARLIE BUCKLEY
Fiction
MAX HIPP
Poetry
JESSICA FISHER
Youth Literature
ALLEN R. WELLS
Music Composition (Contemporary)
STAPLES JR. SINGERS
2026
Noel Polk Lifetime Achievement Award
RICHARD FORD
Nonfiction
ANNE E. MARSHALL
CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY: THE LIFE OF AN ANTISLAVERY SLAVEHOLDER AND THE PARADOX OF THE AMERICAN REFORM
LIFE WRITING
LAUREN RHOADES
SPLIT THE BABY
Photography
KAT FITZPATRICK
Music (CLASSICAL)
CECIL PRICE WALDEN
CITATION OF MERIT
FAULKNER AND YOKNAPATAWPHA CONFERENCEÂ
ATTIC GALLERYÂ
Fiction
ADDIE CITCHENS
DOMINION
Visual Arts
JERROD PARTRIDGE
YOUTH LITERATUREÂ
DERRICK BARNES
I GOT YOU: A BROTHERS PROMISE
Poetry
SADDIQ DZUKOGI
Music (CONTEMPORARY)
MOLLY THOMAS
SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT
ELLEN ANN FENTRESSÂ Â EYES ON MISSISSIPPIÂ
DAVID RAE MORRISÂ Â MY MIND TO ME A KINGDOM ISÂ