The P orter Fund Literary Prize is presented annually to an Arkansas writer who has accomplished a substantial and impressive body of work that merits enh anced recognition.
\nThe $5000 prize makes it one of the state's mos t lucrative as well as prestigious literary awards. Eligibility requires a n Arkansas connection. This year&rsquo\;s recipient is author Jeffrey Cond ran. Jeffrey Condran is the author of the story collection\, A Fingerp rint Repeated (Press 53). His debut novel\, Prague Summer (C ounterpoint)\, received a 2015 Independent Publisher Book Award&rsquo\;s S ilver Medal. His fiction has appeared in journals such as The Kenyon R eview\, The Missouri Review\, and Epoch\, and has b een awarded the The Missouri Review&rsquo\;s 2010 William Peden Prize and Pushcart Prize nominations. He is an Assistant Professor of Creative Writi ng at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and co-founder/publisher o f the independent literary press\, Braddock Avenue Books.
\nThe Booker Worthen Literary Prize was esta blished by the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS) in 1999 in memory of William Booker Worthen\, a longtime supporter of the public library and a 22-year member of CALS Board of Trustees. The prize\, which carries a $2\ ,000 monetary award\, is presented annually for the best work\, fiction or non-fiction\, by an author living in Arkansas and falling within the thre e-year eligibility period following publication. This year&rsquo\;s recipi ent is Eli Cranor. \;
\nBestselling novelist Eli Cranor lives on the banks of Lake Dardanelle and teaches creative writing at Arkansas Tec h University. His work has been included on "best of the year" lists from the New York Times\, USA Today\, Amazon Editors\, and ot hers. His work has been nominated for nearly every major award in the crim e fiction genre\, and most recently the prestigious Mark Twain American Vo ice in Literature Award and the Willie Morris Award for Southern Writing i n Fiction. \;
\nCALS will validate parking in the CALS Library Square surface lot and the CALS Parking Deck. The entrance to the surface lot is located on 2nd \;Street near River Market Ave. The entr ance to the parking deck is located on Rock Street and can be accessed fro m President Clinton Ave. Street parking is also available throughout the R iver Market District (free after 6pm and on weekends).
\nhttps://centra larkansaslibrarysystemcals.libnet.info/event/17333114 URL;VALUE=URI:https://centralarkansaslibrarysystemcals.libnet.info/event/1 7333114 ATTACH:https://static.libnet.info/images/events/centralarkansaslibrarysyst emcals/CALS_6B_2026.png END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR