Becky Hagenston (Photo by Megan Bean)
STARKVILLE, Miss.-Becky Hagenston, a professor in Mississippi State’s English Department, is receiving a professional fellowship for fiction from the Mississippi Arts Commission.
Established in 1968 by the Mississippi Legislature as the state’s grant and service agency for the arts, MAC provides financial and technical assistance to artists, arts organizations and educational institutions.
“Our arts community is amazing, and we’re excited to provide more grants to artists across the country, almost twice as many as last year,” said Sarah Story, MAC executive director. “Mississippi’s artistic heritage is built on the talents of its residents’ unique creative talents. These funds help support the next generation of amazing artists and ensure that the story of great art in our state lives on.” it continues.”
Hagenston’s $4,250 donation is part of $1.65 million in grants the MAC has awarded for fiscal year 2023, made possible by continuing funding from the legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts. For more information, visit www.arts.ms.gov.
“Thank you so much to MAC for this conference and their support of the arts in Mississippi. I will be using the money to develop my fifth collection of stories, and I can’t wait to see where that takes me, ” said Hagenston.
An MSU faculty member since 2001, Hagenston is the author of four award-winning story collections: “The Age of Discovery and Other Stories,” which won The Journal Book Award from Ohio State University Press and the 2022 Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters. in fiction; “Scavengers,” winner of the Permafrost Book Award; “Strange Weather,” winner of the Spokane Award in Short Fiction; and “A Gram of Mars,” winner of the Mary McCarthy Award for Sarabande Books.
Hagenston is the recipient of two O. Henry Awards for short fiction, a 2020 Pushcart Prize for his story “Hi Ho Cherry-O,” the New Lakes Colleges Association Writers’ Award, Reynolds Price Short Fiction Award, and Converse College’s Julia Peterkin. Award.
His work is published in journals including Oxford American, New England Review, Southern Review and Gettysburg Review.
A native of Maryland, Hagenston earned a bachelor’s degree from Elizabethtown College, a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Arizona, and a master’s degree from New Mexico State University.
The Department of English is part of MSU’s College of Arts and Sciences. Complete information can be found at www.english.msstate.edu.
MSU is Mississippi’s premier university, located online at www.msstate.edu.
