Michael Parker, Vacc Distinguished Professor in the MFA Writing Writing Program at UNC Greensboro, was the honoree at the 2015 North Carolina Writers Conference, which convened in Washington, NC, in July. Parker is the author of eight books, most recently All I Have in This World, which was reviewed and excerpted in NCLR Online 2015. His previous honors include the North Carolina Award for Literature, which is the highest civilian honor given in the state. Watch and listen to the tributes paid to this Eastern North Carolina writer by Terry Kennedy, Parker’s former student, now colleague at UNC Wilmington; Kathy Pories, his editor at Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill; and Elizabeth Hudson, another former student, now editor of Our State magazine. And read more about the North Carolina Writers Conference in Fifty Splendid Summers: A Short History of the North Carolina Writers Conference 1950-1999, compiled by Charles Blackburn, Jr. and Robert G. Anthony, Jr.
- Watch the full program honoring Michael Parker at the North Carolina Writers Conference, Washington, NC, 24 July 2015
- Watch the introduction by 2015 NC Writers Conference Chair Margaret Bauer.
- Watch Terry Kennedy pay tribute to his former professor, now colleague.
- Watch Kathy Pories, editor of Algonquin Books, speak about the honoree.
- Watch Our State editor Elizabeth Hudson pay tribute to her former professor.
- Watch Michael Parker’s response (hint: He’s “a hugger.”)