OXFORD, Miss. – Tom Franklin and Beth Ann Fennelly aren’t the only married couple employed at the University of Mississippi, nor are they the first faculty members to author books. They are, however, the first husband and wife to simultaneously receive Mississippi Arts Commission individual artist grants. 
“We were told that married couples have won before for other states in different categories in different years, but that a married couple has never won the same year before in Mississippi or any other state,” said Fennelly, who won her award in poetry. The associate professor of English, who serves as director of UM’s MFA in Creative Writing and Summer Poet-in-Residence programs, previously received an MAC grant in nonfiction.
“Once, we each received a royalty check in the same amount on the same day, and that was fun. This blew that out of the water, though – the double surprise, the double celebration, and neither one had to feel guilty or apologetic in front of the other. It was pure joy,” she added.
“It does feel good, especially since there are so many amazing Mississippi writers out there,” agreed Franklin, assistant professor of English who won his award in fiction. He was also a John and Renée Grisham Writer-in-Residence at UM.
As grant recipients, Franklin and Fennelly were each awarded $4,400 for their respective projects. They are attempting to co-write a novel about the flood of 1927. Both hope to have a first draft of their as-yet-untitled manuscript in January.
The couple said they were grateful to receive notification from MAC of their wins.
“It was a very good mail day for us,” Fennelly said.
Despite the local and global economic downturn, the commission has consistently and conservatively increased the grant programs from $1 million in 2007 to $1.64 million in 2011, said Malcolm White, MAC executive director. “This level of support is unparalleled in our history and a true testament to the continued partnership between the Mississippi Legislature, Gov. Haley Barbour, the National Endowment for the Arts and private sector supporters of the arts in Mississippi,” White said.
The couple said they hope their latest honors bring more recognition to the English department and the university.
“I’d like to see our MFA program get even better and have more financial support for our amazing graduate students,” Franklin said.
“I am proud that the faith shown in me by the English department, the College of Liberal Arts and the university as a whole has been supported by the MAC,” Fennelly said.
A graduate of the University of South Alabama and the University of Arkansas, Franklin joined the UM faculty in 2000. Previously, he taught at his Alabama alma mater, Bucknell University, Knox College and Sewanee University.
Franklin’s short stories and essays have appeared in numerous magazines including The Chattahoochie Review, The Nebraska Review, the Texas Review and Quarterly West. His writings have also appeared in anthologies, such as “The Year’s Best,” “Best American Mystery Stories” and “Best Mystery Stories of the Century.”
Novels Franklin has written are “Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter” (William Morrow and Co., 2010), “Poachers: Stories” (William Morrow and Co., 1999), “Hell at the Breach” (Harper Collins, 2003) and “Smonk” (Harper Collins, 2006). His literary achievements include winning the Writers at Work Literary Contest, the Arkansas Arts Council grant for the short story and the Guggenheim Fellowship.
A graduate of the University of Notre Dame, the University of Arkansas and the University of Wisconsin, Fennelly also joined UM’s English department faculty in 2000. She also previously taught at Knox College.
Fennelly’s poems have appeared in numerous anthologies including “Best American Poetry,” “Best American Erotic Poems” and “Contemporary American Poetry.” Her work has appeared in several nonfiction and scholarly publications, including The Oxford American, The Black Warrior Review and Oprah Magazine.
Poetry collections authored by Fennelly are “Open House” (W. W. Norton, 2009), “Unmentionables” (W. W. Norton, 2008), and “Tender Hooks,” (W. W. Norton, 2004). She has also published the essay collection, “Great with Child: Letters to a Young Mother” (W. W. Norton, 2006).
Her literary achievements include a Fulbright Fellowship to Brazil, U.S. Artists Grant, grants from the state of Illinois Arts Council in poetry and the National Endowment for the Arts in poetry, fellowships from Bread Loaf, Sewanee and the University of Wisconsin. Fennelly has also won a Pushcart Prize and read poetry at the Library of Congress at the invitation of the U.S. Poet Laureate.
For more about the Department of English, go to http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/