The John Egerton Prize

For his work in chronicling and championing the cause of civil rights in America, and for his contribution to our understanding of the power of the common table, the John Egerton Prize recognizes artists, writers, scholars, and others--including artisans and farmers and cooks--whose work, in the American South, addresses issues of race, class, gender, and social and environmental justice, through the lens of food.

The prize seeks to identify people whose work would benefit from greater freedom, support, and exposure. Awards are announced in January.  Criteria are purposefully loose. Candidates should:

1) live or work in the American South;
2) exhibit exceptional creativity;
3) apply the rubric of food to their work;
4) have the potential to make a genuine difference in one or more fields; and
5) stand to truly benefit from a $5,000 investment in their work.

Jurors, for an initial two-year term, are:

Ann Cashion, chef, Washington D.C.
Makale Cullen, nonprofit administrator, New York, NY
Reid Mizell, consultant, Atlanta, GA
Malcolm White, arts administrator, Jackson, MS
Kevin Young, poet, Atlanta, GA

Ex Officio members of the jury committee are:

John Egerton
John T Edge

Self-nominations are not accepted, but if you’d like to call attention to the work of someone in your community, please e-mail a name and brief bio to sfamail@olemiss.edu.  Receipt of e-mails will be acknowledged, and all suggestions will be forwarded to the committee for consideration.

For more information on John Egerton, see our oral history online.