Professor Ann Townsend honored by Barnes & Noble

Denison University English Professor Ann Townsend will be honored by Barnes & Noble with their 2016 “Writers for Writers Award.” Townsend and her co-founders Erin Belieu and Cate Marvin are being honored as founders of VIDA: Women in Literary Arts, a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to increase critical attention to contemporary women's writing and to​ ​call attention to​ ​gender equality issues in literary culture.

This national prize, sponsored by Poets & Writers, the nation's largest nonprofit literary organization, will be awarded this month. The Writers for Writers Award was established by Poets & Writers in 1996 to recognize authors who have given generously to other writers or to the broader literary community. It is named for Barnes & Noble in appreciation of the company's loyal sponsorship of Poets & Writers.

“Though we didn't found the organization with the thought that we would receive recognition for doing so, this is a real honor for me,” said Townsend. “This is a validation of what we have accomplished over the past six years.”

Townsend is the author of two collections of poetry: “Dime Store Erotics” and “The Coronary Garden,” and is co-editor, with David Baker, of “Radiant Lyre: Essays on Lyric Poetry.” She has received fellowships from the Lannan Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Ohio Arts Council, as well as the “Discovery” Prize from The Nation. Her poetry and essays appear widely in magazines such as The Kenyon Review, Poetry, and The Paris Review. Professor of English-Creative Writing at Denison University, she currently serves on the Board of Directors of CATCO​ ​is Theater, and the Board of Advisors of VIDA: Women in Literary Arts.