February 9, 2007

MONTGOMERY, Ala.—William Cobb, an alumnus of The University of West Alabama, has been named the recipient of the tenth annual Harper Lee Award for Alabama’s Distinguished Writer.

The annual award recognizes the lifetime achievement of a writer who was born in Alabama or who spent his or her formative years living and writing in the state. Named for Harper Lee, a Monroeville native and author of To Kill a Mockingbird, the award is funded by George and Eva Landegger through a gift to Alabama Southern Community College.

In his letter of nomination, Don Noble, host of the APT literary interview show Bookmark, wrote, “I think it is important to mention that Cobb’s work, while sometimes very funny, for the most part has real gravitas.”

UWA’s 1984 Distinguished Alumnus of the Year, Cobb is the author of six novels, a short story collection and three plays. His numerous writing awards include fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Atlantic Center for the Arts and the Alabama State Council on the Arts.

While Cobb continues to produce new material, UWA’s Livingston Press is reissuing his first two novels. The Press, which prides itself on publishing Alabama writers, brought The Hermit King back to print in 2005 with five of Cobb’s new short stories. In 2007, the Press will reissue his first novel, Coming of Age at the Y, which became an underground cult classic on college campuses.

A native of Demopolis, Cobb received his Bachelor of Arts in English and history from Livingston State College (now UWA) in 1961 and a Master of Arts in Southern literature and creative writing from Vanderbilt University in 1963. He taught in the English department at the University of Montevallo from 1963 until 2000.

William Cobb will receive the Harper Lee Award for Alabama’s Distinguished Writer at the tenth annual Alabama Writers Symposium, May 3-5, at Alabama Southern Community College in Monroeville.