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Carden's book wins AWA Book of the Year Award

By Rose Hooper
Gary Carden's "Mason Jars in the Flood"has won the Appalachian Writers Association Award for the Best Book of the Year.

Published last year by Parkway Publishers, Carden's book draws from the author's boyhood days in Rhodes Cove. Portions of the title story, based on the author's memories the 1940 flood, were reprinted last August as part of The Sylva Herald's coverage of the 60th anniversary of the flood.

"I didn't realize what a big deal (the award) was until I checked out the competition,"said Carden, who accepted the award last weekend in Johnson City, Tenn. "'Mason Jars' even beat out Tony Earley's 'Jim the Boy.'"

Last year, Robert Morgan's "Gap Creek"won the award, and Charles Frazier's "Cold Mountain"won in 1998.

"In the future, 'Mason Jars' will be issued with a sticker on the front that indicates the award,"said Carden, one of 150 Appalachian writers who attended the three-day conference at East Tennessee State University.

The Appalachian Writers Association was founded in 1983 to preserve Appalachia's literary heritage through promoting the works of new authors and celebrating established writers.

Back to Archive: 07/19/01.