The Georgia Writers Hall of Fame honors writers who have made significant contributions to the literary legacy of the state of Georgia. Established in 2000 by the University of Georgia Libraries’ Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, the Hall of Fame existed as a virtual presence until 2012, when it was given a physical space within the university's Richard B. Russell Building.
The Georgia Writers Hall of Fame accepts public nominations. New inductees are elected by a board of judges convened by the University of Georgia librarian. Writers are eligible for nomination if they were born in Georgia or if they produced an important work while living in the state.
It was hoped by the University of Georgia Libraries that the program "would attract donors by bringing living authors to campus and celebrating those of the past; also the ceremony and exhibits, ideally growing each year, could draw in funds for the Libraries' much-needed new buildings and its endowments, along with opening up possibilities for cultural programs and attracting additional writers (or their estates) who might choose to house their archives."
Inductees
Georgia Writers Hall of Fame Name Image Year Inducted Birth–Death Georgia ConnectionErskine Caldwell20001903-1987Born in Moreland, GeorgiaJames Dickey20001923-1997Born in Atlanta, GeorgiaW.E.B. Du Bois20001868-1963Lived in Atlanta, GeorgiaJoel Chandler Harris20001848-1908Born in Eatonton, GeorgiaJohn Oliver Killens20001916-1987Born in Macon, GeorgiaMartin Luther King, Jr.20001929-1968Born in Atlanta, GeorgiaSidney Lanier20001842-1881Born in Macon, GeorgiaAugustus Baldwin Longstreet20001790-1870Born in Augusta, GeorgiaCarson McCullers20001917-1967Born in Columbus, GeorgiaMargaret Mitchell20001900-1949Born in Atlanta, GeorgiaFlannery O'Connor20001925-1964Born in Savannah, GeorgiaLillian Smith20001897-1966Lived in Screamer Mountain, in Clayton, GeorgiaByron Herbert Reece20011917-1958Born in Blairsville, GeorgiaHarry Crews20021935-2012Born in Alma, GeorgiaJean Toomer20021894-1967Sparta, Georgia, inspired the fictional setting of his novel CaneAlice Walker2002b. February 9, 1944Born in Eatonton, GeorgiaConrad Aiken20031889-1973Born in Savannah, GeorgiaElias Boudinot20031804-1839Born in Oothcaloga, Cherokee Nation (present-day Calhoun, Georgia)Pat Conroy20041945-2016Born in Atlanta, GeorgiaHenry W. Grady20041850-1889Born in Athens, GeorgiaRalph Emerson McGill20041898-1969Lived in Atlanta, GeorgiaJimmy Carter20061924-2024Born in Plains, GeorgiaTerry Kay20061938-2020Born in Royston, GeorgiaFrank Yerby20061916-1991Born in Augusta, GeorgiaCaroline Miller20071903-1992Born in Waycross, GeorgiaFerrol Sams20071922-2013Born in Fayette County, GeorgiaCelestine Sibley20071914-1999Lived in Atlanta, GeorgiaAnne Rivers Siddons20071936-2019Born in Atlanta, GeorgiaJohn Stone20071936-2008Lived in Atlanta, GeorgiaBailey White2008b. May 31, 1950Born in Thomasville, GeorgiaCalder Baynard Willingham, Jr.20081922-1995Born in Atlanta, GeorgiaRaymond Andrews20091934-1991Born in Madison, GeorgiaColeman Barks20091937-2026Lived in Athens, GeorgiaDavid Bottoms20091949-2023Born in Canton, GeorgiaRobert J. Burch20091925-2007Born in Inman, GeorgiaJudith Ortiz Cofer20101952-2016Lived in Louisville, GeorgiaGeorgia Douglas Johnson20101877-1966Born in Atlanta, GeorgiaWalter Francis White20101893-1955Born in Atlanta, GeorgiaPhilip Lee Williams2010b. January 30, 1950Born in Athens, GeorgiaMelissa Fay Greene2011b. December 30, 1952Born in Macon, GeorgiaJames Patrick Kilgo20111941-2002Lived in Athens, GeorgiaJohnny Mercer20111909-1976Born in Savannah, GeorgiaNatasha Trethewey2011b. April 26, 1966Lived in Athens and Atlanta, GeorgiaToni Cade Bambara20131939-1995Lived in Atlanta, GeorgiaJudson Mitcham2013b. 1948Born in Monroe, GeorgiaOlive Ann Burns20141924-1990Born in Banks County, GeorgiaMary Hood2014b. September 16, 1946Born in Brunswick, GeorgiaAlfred Uhry2014b. December 3, 1936Born in Atlanta, GeorgiaVereen Bell20151911-1941Born in Cairo, GeorgiaTaylor Branch2015b. January 14, 1947Born in Atlanta, GeorgiaPaul Hemphill20151936-2009Lived in Atlanta, GeorgiaJanisse Ray2015b. February 2, 1962Born in Baxley, GeorgiaRoy Blount Jr.2016b. October 4, 1941Lived in Decatur, GeorgiaBrainard Cheney20161900-1990Born in Fitzgerald, GeorgiaKatharine DuPre Lumpkin20161895-1988Born in Macon, GeorgiaJames Alan McPherson20161943-2016Born in Savannah, GeorgiaBill Shipp20161933-2023Born in Marietta, GeorgiaJames Cobb2017b. April 13, 1947Born in Hart County, GeorgiaAlfred Corn2017b. August 14, 1943Born in Bainbridge, GeorgiaEugenia Price20171916-1996Lived in Brunswick, GeorgiaKevin Young2017b. November 8, 1970Lived in Athens and Atlanta, GeorgiaFurman Bisher20181918-2012Atlanta Journal-Constitution sportswriter and editorMichael Bishop20181945-2023Lived in LaGrange, GeorgiaTayari Jones2018b. November 30, 1970Born in Atlanta, GeorgiaFrances Newman20181883-1928Born in Atlanta, GeorgiaCynthia Shearer2018b. June 25, 1955Lived in Alapaha, GeorgiaJohn T. Edge2019b. December 22, 1962Born in Clinton, GeorgiaJulia Collier Harris20191875-1967Born in Atlanta, GeorgiaA. E. Stallings2019b. July 2, 1968Born in Decatur, GeorgiaValerie Boyd20211963-2022Born in Atlanta, GeorgiaJericho Brown2021b. April 14, 1976Lived in Atlanta, GeorgiaPearl Cleage2021b. December 7, 1948Lived in Atlanta, GeorgiaJohn Lewis20211940-2020Lived in Atlanta, GeorgiaThomas Lux20211946-2017Lived in Atlanta, GeorgiaSue Monk Kidd2021b. August 12, 1948Born in Albany, GeorgiaClarence Major2021b. December 31, 1936Born in Atlanta, GeorgiaDaniel Boorstin20231914-2004Born in Atlanta, GeorgiaPercival Everett2023b. December 22, 1956Born in Fort Gordon, GeorgiaFrances Mayes2023b. March 23, 1940Born in Fitzgerald, GeorgiaRobert Sengstacke Abbott20241868-1940Born in St. Simons, GeorgiaWyatt Prunty2024b. May 15, 1947Lived in Athens, GeorgiaBarbara Brown Taylor2024b. September 21, 1951Lived in Habersham County, GeorgiaTina McElroy Ansa20251949-2024Born in Macon, GeorgiaDeborah Blum2025b. October 19, 1954Lived in Athens, GeorgiaAnthony Grooms2025b. January 15, 1955Lived in Atlanta, GeorgiaAlice Friman2026b. October 20, 1933Lived in Milledgeville, GeorgiaCharlie Smith2026b. June 27, 1947Born in Moultrie, GeorgiaShay Youngblood20261959-2024Born in Columbus, Georgia
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