Contact: Maridith Geuder
A longtime Mississippi State University historian and author is adding another recognition to his long list of honors.
John F. Marszalek, who has written eight books and more than 150 articles, is one of two Mississippi authors recently receiving the Richard Wright Literary Excellence Award presented by the Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration.
Also honored was Lewis Nordan, a Forest native who holds a master's degree from MSU and currently teaches at the University of Pittsburgh. Nordan is the author of four novels, including the award-winning "Wolf Whistle" and "Sugar Among the Freaks."
Named for the famed African-American writer who was born near Natchez, the Wright Award has been presented annually since 1994 to living authors with strong Mississippi connections and a significant body of literary work. Eudora Welty, Ellen Douglas, Willie Morris, Richard Ford, and John Grisham are among previous winners.
Marszalek is a William L. Giles Distinguished Professor at MSU, where he has taught since 1972. He is the author of "Assault at West Point: The Court Martial of Johnson Whitaker," which became a Showtime cable movie. Two of his other books--"The Petticoat Affair" and "Sherman: A Soldier's Passion for Order"--were main selections of the History Book Club.
In addition, "Petticoat Affair" won the Southeastern Library Association's Non-Fiction Award and "Sherman" was a featured alternate selection of the Book of the Month Club.
Marszalek previously won the Mississippi Library Association's Non-Fiction Award and has been recognized by the MSU Alumni Association with its Faculty Achievement Award.
He holds an undergraduate degree from Canisius College in Buffalo, N.Y., and master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Notre Dame.