Copyright Notice: This article is from the Encyclopedia of North Carolina edited by William S. Powell. Copyright © 2006 by the University of North Carolina Press. Used by permission of the publisher. For personal use and not for further distribution. Please submit permission requests for other use directly to the publisher.

Inglis Fletcher, circa 1953-1957, winner of the Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction for Outstanding Literary Achievement in 1953. Image from the North Carolina Museum of History..
Inglis Fletcher, circa 1953-1957, winner of the Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction for Outstanding Literary Achievement in 1953. Image from the North Carolina Museum of History..
The Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction was established in 1952 by the Historical Book Club of North Carolina to recognize the year's best book of fiction, drama, short stories, or poetry written by a North Carolinian. A replica of the statuette of Sir Walter Raleigh that crowns the master cup is usually given each year to the author or authors of the original book judged as being most worthy of recognition, though it is sometimes given for meritorious achievement over a period of years. Paul Green won the first award for his outstanding literary career. Other winners have included Daphne Athas, Doris Betts, Fred Chappell, John Ehle, Charles Frazier, Kay Gibbons, Reynolds Price, and Lee Smith. The competition, open to residents of North Carolina, is handled through the secretary of the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association.

Frances Gray Patton, circa 1950-1957, winner of the Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction in 1953, 1955, and 1956. Image from the North Carolina Museum of History.References:

H. G. Jones, "Sir Walter Raleigh Award," Carolina Comments (March 1972).

Richard Walser, "North Carolina Awards in Literature and History," NCHR 31 (April 1954).

Image Credits:

"Photograph, Accession #: H.1957.65.3." Circa 1953-1957. North Carolina Museum of History.

"Photograph, Accession #: H.1957.65.2." Circa 1950-1957. North Carolina Museum of History

Citation

Jones, H. G. "Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction." NCpedia. Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press. Accessed on February 21st, 2025. https://www.ncpedia.org/sir-walter-raleigh-award-fiction.