UA Professor, Award Winning Author to be Honored

Rick Bragg, a University of Alabama professor in the department of Journalism & Creative Media and award-winning author, will be inducted as one of Alabama Humanities Alliance's Alabama Humanities Fellows on December 2nd.

Bragg is a Pulitzer Prize winning writer and will be joined by Emmy-nominated humorist Roy Wood Jr. at its Alabama Colloquium at the Alys Stephens Center’s Jemison Concert Hall in Birmingham.

Also selected as a fellow is Emmy-nominated humorist Roy Wood Jr., a graduate of Ramsey High School in Birmingham.  He worked as a radio news reporter in Birmingham while in college.

Bragg is a Piedmont, AL native who worked for the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Birmingham News and Anniston Star as a journalist. While working as the Miami bureau chief for the New York Times he won the Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the internation controversy surrounding the forced return of Cuban youngster Elián González to the Communist nation.

Bragg tells stories in the southern tradition and has authored 12 books, many incorporating his Alabama heritage, such as All Over but the Shoutin, Where I Come from: Stories from the Deep South, and The Prince of Frogtown.

In a release from the alliance, Bragg voiced gratitude for their recognition, “I’ve been trying to tell the stories of the people of my state all my life, and to have someone see the value in that – whether it is an organization like this or a simple letter from a reader – reminds me of the value in those stories.”

The Alabama Humanities Alliance is a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The alliance website says it supports programs that encourage impactful storytelling, lifelong learning, and civic engagement.