The William Faulkner Foundation (1960-1970) was a charitable organization founded by the novelist

William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer known for his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, based on Lafayette County, Mississippi, where Faulkner spent most of ...

in 1960 to support various charitable causes, all educational or literary in nature.

The foundation

The foundation programs included the William Faulkner Foundation Award for notable

first novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

; the Ibero-American Award; a scholarship for first-year

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

undergraduates showing talent in creative writing; scholarships for African-Americans from Mississippi seeking higher education; and monetary gifts to a

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded i ...

"Negro summer camp" in Mississippi. The fund's assets derived primarily from Faulkner's

Nobel Prize for Literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...

, and in later years, an "Associates" group contributed further funds.William Faulkner Foundation, "Minutes of Annual Meeting of Board of Directors," 1968. William Faulkner Foundation Corporate Records. Faulkner also donated to the foundation, over several stages, all of the manuscripts that he had placed on deposit for safekeeping at the

library. In 1968, Harold Ober Associates donated to the foundation "certain original records of William Faulkner." Founding members of the foundation included William Faulkner, Linton R. Massey Jr., Faulkner's daughter Jill Faulkner Summers and her husband, Paul Summers Jr. After Faulkner's death in 1962, his widow Estelle Faulkner joined the foundation. The foundation was dissolved in 1970 and all its assets conveyed to the University of Virginia because of a failure of will on the part of the university, which tired of the obligation to award the prizes, and sued in order to divert the assets of the foundation to the university library.

Scholarships

Writing awards

:''This is about the William Faulkner Award, not the William Faulkner Prize or

PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction The PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction is awarded annually by the PEN/Faulkner Foundation to the authors of the year's best works of fiction by living American citizens. The winner receives US$15,000 and each of four runners-up receives US$5000. Fi ...

'' The original intent of the foundation's two literary awards was to support young writers. The William Faulkner Foundation Award for notable first novel was judged by young faculty at the University of Virginia because "Faulkner felt that young persons can best understand and judge young writers.". The other award, The Ibero-American award, was inspired by Faulkner's visit to Venezuela in 1961, which he had made as part of a cultural diplomacy effort to improve U.S.-Venezuelan relations.Joseph Blotner, ''Faulkner: A Biography: One-Volume Edition'' (New York: Random House 1984), p. 687 Faulkner realized on the trip how many excellent novels by young Latin American writers were not translated into English and wanted the award to ameliorate the situation. The award was originally intended to support young writers, but the eligibility age was abolished soon after the project was undertaken; the only requirement was that the novel had to have been published after World War II. It was judged by individuals from across Latin America, and the winning novel was to be translated into English at Foundation expense.

Winners of William Faulkner Foundation Award for Notable First Novel

The date shown is the year the award was made, for a book published the year prior. *1961

John Knowles John Knowles (; September 16, 1926November 29, 2001) was an American novelist best known for ''A Separate Peace'' (1959). Biography Knowles was born on September 17, 1926, in Fairmont, West Virginia, the son of James M. Knowles, a purchasing ag ...

, ''

A Separate Peace ''A Separate Peace'' is a coming-of-age novel by John Knowles, published in 1958. Based on his earlier short story "Phineas", published in the May 1956 issue of ''Cosmopolitan'', it was Knowles's first published novel and became his best-know ...

'' *1962 Lawrence Sargent Hall, ''

Stowaway A stowaway or clandestine traveller is a person who secretly boards a vehicle, such as a ship, an aircraft, a train, cargo truck or bus. Sometimes, the purpose is to get from one place to another without paying for transportation. In other cas ...

'' *1963

Reynolds Price Edward Reynolds Price (February 1, 1933 – January 20, 2011) was an American poet, novelist, dramatist, essayist and James B. Duke Professor of English at Duke University. Apart from English literature, Price had a lifelong interest in Biblical ...

, ''

A Long and Happy Life A, or a, is the first Letter (alphabet), letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name ...

'' *1964

Thomas Pynchon Thomas Ruggles Pynchon Jr. ( , ; born May 8, 1937) is an American novelist noted for his dense and complex novels. His fiction and non-fiction writings encompass a vast array of subject matter, genres and themes, including history, music, scie ...

, '' V.'' *1965

Charles Simmons Charles Simmons may refer to: *Charles Simmons (gymnast) (1885–1945), British gymnast who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics *Charles Simmons (author) (1924–2017), American editor and novelist *Charles Simmons (author, born 1798), American cl ...

, ''

Powdered Eggs A powdered egg is a fully dehydrated egg. Most powdered eggs are made using spray drying in the same way that powdered milk is made. The major advantages of powdered eggs over fresh eggs are the reduced weight per volume of whole egg equivalent ...

'' *1966

Cormac McCarthy Cormac McCarthy (born Charles Joseph McCarthy Jr., July 20, 1933) is an American writer who has written twelve novels, two plays, five screenplays and three short stories, spanning the Western and post-apocalyptic genres. He is known for his gr ...

, ''

The Orchard Keeper ''The Orchard Keeper'' is the first novel by the American novelist Cormac McCarthy. It won the 1966 William Faulkner Foundation Award for notable first novel. Plot ''The Orchard Keeper'' is set during the inter-war period in the hamlet of Red B ...

'' *1967

Robert Coover Robert Lowell Coover (born February 4, 1932) is an American novelist, short story writer, and T.B. Stowell Professor Emeritus in Literary Arts at Brown University. He is generally considered a writer of fabulation and metafiction. Background C ...

, '' The Origin of the Brunists'' *1968

Frederick Exley Frederick Earl "Fred" Exley (March 28, 1929 – June 17, 1992)Bruce Lambert''New York Times'', June 18, 1992. was an American writer. His fictional memoir '' A Fan's Notes'' received critical acclaim and awards. He followed it up with two more ...

, '' A Fan's Notes'' *1969 Robert Stone, '' A Hall of Mirrors'' *1970

Larry Woiwode Larry Alfred Woiwode (October 30, 1941April 28, 2022) was an American writer from North Dakota, where he was the state's Poet Laureate from 1995 until his death. His work appeared in ''The New Yorker'', ''Esquire'', ''The Atlantic Monthly'', '' H ...

, '' What I'm Going to Do, I Think''

Winners of Ibero-American Award

1962 *''Los enemigos del alma'' by Eduardo Mallea, Argentina *''Los deshabitados'' by

Marcelo Quiroga Santa Cruz Marcelo Quiroga Santa Cruz (13 March 1931 – 17 July 1980) was a noted writer, dramatist, journalist, social commentator, university professor, and socialist political leader from Bolivia. In 1964 Marcelo won the ''PEN/Faulkner Award for Fictio ...

, Bolivia *''Vidas Sêcas'' by

Graciliano Ramos Graciliano Ramos de Oliveira () (October 27, 1892 – March 20, 1953) was a Brazilian modernist writer, politician and journalist. He is known worldwide for his portrayal of the precarious situation of the poor inhabitants of the Brazilian ''sert� ...

, Brazil *''Coronación'' by

José Donoso José Manuel Donoso Yáñez (5 October 1924 – 7 December 1996), known as José Donoso, was a Chilean writer, journalist and professor. He lived most of his life in Chile, although he spent many years in self-imposed exile in Mexico, the United ...

, Chile *''Marcos Ramírez'' by Carlos Luis Fallas Sibaja, Costa Rica *''El Buen Ladrón'' by

Marcio Veloz Maggiolo Marcio Veloz Maggiolo (13 August 1936 – 10 April 2021) was a Dominican writer, archaeologist and anthropologist. Biography A prolific author of both academic and literary themes, his original-Spanish language works have been translated ...

, Dominican Republic *''El Señor Presidente'' by

Miguel Angel Asturias --> Miguel is a given name and surname, the Portuguese and Spanish form of the Hebrew name Michael (given name), Michael. It may refer to: Places *Pedro Miguel, a parish in the municipality of Horta and the island of Faial in the Azores Islands ...

, Guatemala *''Los Forzados de Gamboa'' by

Joaquín Beleño Joaquín or Joaquin is a male given name, the Spanish version of Joachim. Given name * Joaquín (footballer, born 1956), Spanish football midfielder * Joaquín (footballer, born 1981), Spanish football winger * Joaquín (footballer, born 1982), ...

, Panama *''Hijo de hombre'' by Roa Bastos, Paraguay *''Los ríos profundos'' by

José María Arguedas José María Arguedas Altamirano (18 January 1911 – 2 December 1969) was a Peruvian novelist, poet, and anthropologist. Arguedas was an author of Spanish descent, fluent in the Native Quechua language, gained by living in two Quechua househ ...

, Peru *''La vispera del hombre'' by

René Marqués René Marqués (October 4, 1919 – March 22, 1979) was a Puerto Rican short story writer and playwright. Early years Marqués was born, raised and educated in the city of Arecibo. He developed an interest in writing at a young age and was p ...

, Puerto Rico *''El astillero'' by

Juan Carlos Onetti Juan Carlos Onetti Borges (July 1, 1909 – May 30, 1994) was a Uruguayan novelist and author of short stories. Early life Onetti was born in Montevideo, Uruguay. He was the son of Carlos Onetti, a customs official, and Honoria Borges, who ...

, Uruguay *''Érase un hombre pentafácico'' by

Emma Godoy Emma may refer to: * Emma (given name) Film * Emma (1932 film), ''Emma'' (1932 film), a comedy-drama film by Clarence Brown * Emma (1996 theatrical film), ''Emma'' (1996 theatrical film), a film starring Gwyneth Paltrow * Emma (1996 TV film), '' ...

, Mexico *''Cumboto'' by Ramón Díaz Sánchez, Venezuela. This novel was selected for translation into English. The translation by John Upton was published by the University of Texas Press, 1969.

References

External links

Corporate records of the William Faulkner Foundation
at the

Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library The Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia is a research library that specializes in American history and literature, history of Virginia and the southeastern United States, the history of the Universit ...

at the

Papers of Linton Massey relating to the William Faulkner Collection and the William Faulkner Foundation
at the

at the

Papers Concerning the Ibero-American Project, 1961-1973
at the

at the

{{Authority control American fiction awards First book awards Awards established in 1960 Awards disestablished in 1970 1960 establishments in Virginia 1970 disestablishments in Virginia