BOONE, N.C. — The 2020 winners of Appalachian State University’s inaugural David Hodgin English Award are Appalachian senior Abigail Miles, of Raleigh, and alumna Barclay Ann Blankenship ’20, of Willow Springs.
This award, which recognizes one work of prose and one of poetry, commemorates the late English professor Dr. David Redid Hodgin, who taught at Appalachian State Teachers College — now Appalachian State University — for 24 years. Each winner will be granted a $350 scholarship and their work will be published in Appalachian’s literary journal, Cold Mountain Review.
For this year’s prompt, writers were called to address COVID-19’s impacts on society.
More on the winners
Miles, whose prose entry “Twenty One” was recognized, is majoring in English with a concentration in creative writing. She works for the University Bookstore and University Tutoring Services and is also an Honors College student. She belongs to the Appalachian Student Book Club and, as an avid reader, is inspired by books to write stories of her own.
Blankenship, who holds a B.A. in English with a concentration in literary studies, was recognized for her poem “We are in a fragment.” Her writing has been published on various online platforms; however, this is her first publication in a creative journal.
When she is not writing, Blankenship said she is reading, daydreaming of future travels — she participated in a study abroad program while at Appalachian — or playing guitar and singing.
Student representatives of the Department of English developed the idea for the David Hodgin English Award and served as jurors for the submitted works, along with Mark Powell, an associate professor of creative writing and editor of Cold Mountain Review.
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About the Department of English
The Department of English at Appalachian State University is committed to outstanding work in the classroom, the support and mentorship of students, and a dynamic engagement with culture, history, language, theory and literature. The department offers master’s degrees in English and rhetoric and composition, as well as undergraduate degrees in literary studies, film studies, creative writing, professional writing and English education. Learn more at https://english.appstate.edu.
About the College of Arts and Sciences
The College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) at Appalachian State University is home to 17 academic departments, two centers and one residential college. These units span the humanities and the social, mathematical and natural sciences. CAS aims to develop a distinctive identity built upon our university's strengths, traditions and locations. The college’s values lie not only in service to the university and local community, but through inspiring, training, educating and sustaining the development of its students as global citizens. More than 6,800 student majors are enrolled in the college. As the college is also largely responsible for implementing App State’s general education curriculum, it is heavily involved in the education of all students at the university, including those pursuing majors in other colleges. Learn more at https://cas.appstate.edu.
About Appalachian State University
As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, cost-effective education. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.