Author: jjlsociety

The 27th annual James Jones First Novel Fellowship has been awarded to Marco Kaye of Maplewood, New Jersey, for his novel, Levon. Kaye was named Fellow and will receive a  $10,000 check. The Fellowship is co-sponsored by the James Jones Literary Society and the Maslow Family Graduate Program in Creative Writing at Wilkes University. Marco… Continue reading 2019 James Jones First Novel Fellow Named

Each year, the James Jones Literary Society sponsors a contest for seniors at area high schools in eastern Illinois. The essays are based on James Jones’s short story “The Valentine,” which was first published in the Saturday Evening Post in 1963 and was later included in The Ice-Cream Headache and Other Stories. The story features… Continue reading Valentine essay winners of 2019

Ben Noble, a 2019 graduate of Marshall High School, received the $500 Lowney Turner Handy Writing Award . Although the Award has been presented over a number of years, since 2018 recipients now also receive a $500 scholarship as a result of a donation by Jon Shirota, the Handy Writers Colony’s last member. Shirota has… Continue reading 2019 Lowney Turner Handy Awardee

Alicia Upano, whose hometown is Wahiawa Hawai‘i, has been named the 2018 James Jones First Novel Fellow for her novel, Big Music. Upano's manuscript was selected from more than 650 submissions. Nancy Johnson is runner-up for The Kindest Lie. Honorable mention awardees are Deborah Good for Viktor Schmitz and Megan Roberts for Life on a… Continue reading 2018 First Novel Fellowship awardees