AWARDS: Lamar York Prize for Nonfiction. Chattahoochee Review, 2015. Dictionary of American Regional English Essay Winner, 2014. Jesse Stuart Prize for Young Adult Fiction, 2014. Jean Ritchie Fellowship for Excellence in Appalachian Writing, 2012
ESSAYS:
"Buck"-an essay about the legacy of an Appalachian woman published in Still, 2011 (Finalist, Emma Belle Miles Prize for Essay at Mountain Heritage Literary Festival, Lincoln Memorial University, 2011)
"The Legend of Bouncing Bertha"-an article about a little girl in Depression-era Appalachia whose reputation for being haunted reached around the world, published in Blue Ridge Country Magazine, 2009 (Archived in "Reader Favorites")
"Family Matters: A Mother and Daughter's Literacy Journey"-an autobiographical essay about growing with three generations of Appalachian women teaching multiple literacies; how most Appalachian kids are influenced by multiple literacies in spite of popular beliefs about illiteracy in the region. Published by the National Writing Project, 2009.(Finalist, Emma Belle Miles Prize for Essay)
"Don't Scapegoat Appalachia"-a commentary about stereotype published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Tampa Tribune, 2003