Wilma Dykeman – Urban News Awards Writers of Color
Crystal Cauley has won the first two Wilma Dykeman Awards for Writers of Color.
Her article “The Talking Walls” appeared in the April 2019 edition of The Urban News and described decorating her new apartment. A year later—coincidentally in May, the month of Dykeman’s 100th birthday—The Urban News published Crystal’s second article describing her mother, Marilyn Mills Cauley.
A presentation ceremony was held on Tuesday, June 23, 2021, at the Wilma Dykeman Greenway in Asheville’s River Arts District. The author was presented with a check for $200 ($100 per article) from The Urban News, plus two framed certificates of achievement in recognition of her work.
Crystal Cauley ended her second article, “Grounded: A Mother’s Love,” with the following words: “I am so very thankful that my mother intertwined her love for nature and my love for African history together. Creative writing, history, and plants are different, yet I find ways to keep my focus on learning important things—and that is the genius part of it.”
Wilma Dykeman herself kept learning, inspiring, and being inspired right up to her death in 2006. This is the very essence of the written and spoken word.
We invite budding writers as well as established authors to submit unpublished works of 500 words or less to The Urban News, PO Box 2038, Asheville, NC 28802, or to [email protected].
