FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Richelle Putnam
601/880-1089 – richelle1putnam@yahoo.com
RICHELLE PUTNAM RECEIVES
MISSISSIPPI ARTS COMMISSION FELLOWSHIP
(Jackson, Miss.) – July 21, 2020 Richelle Putnam of Meridian has been awarded a $3,700 grant from the Mississippi Arts Commission. This grant is a portion of the $1.3 million in grants the Commission will award in 2020-2021 and will be used to travel to Wessex in the West Country of Great Britain to complete her historical fiction novel, Sons of Segbert, Brothers of Wessex The grants are made possible by continued funding from the Mississippi State Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts.
“Artists have been hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, and as such, we are truly grateful to be able to provide grants to talented individuals across the state,” said Malcolm White, executive director of MAC. “These artists infuse their communities with the creative spirit and inspiration we need during these times, and we are proud to support their efforts."
Richelle Putnam is a Mississippi Arts Commission (MAC) Teaching Artist/Roster Artist (Literary), a Mississippi Humanities Speaker, and a 2014 MAC Literary Arts Fellowship recipient. Her non-fiction book, Mississippi and The Great Depression (The History Press, 2017) was nominated for the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters award, non-fiction category, and received the 2017 Foreword Indies Book Awards Bronze Medal in the Regional non-fiction category. Her YA biography, The Inspiring Life of Eudora (The History Press, 2014) received the 2014 Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards Silver Medal. She is also the author of Lauderdale County, Mississippi; a Brief History (The History Press, 2011) and co-author of Legendary Locals of Meridian, Mississippi (Arcadia Publishing 2013). Her literary work has been published in Pif Magazine, The Copperfield Review, Birmingham Arts Journal, and several bestselling anthologies. She is the managing editor of The Bluegrass Standard magazine and her articles have been published in The Bluegrass Standard, Town & Gown, Mississippi Magazine, Parents & Kids, Well Being, Social South magazines and more. Her lyric writing has been recognized in five issues of American Songwriter Magazine. She is currently enrolled in the Marketing Management BS degree program at Western Governors University and recently received the WGU Excellence Award in English Comp I for her essay, “Educated.”
The Mississippi Arts Commission, a state agency, serves the residents of the state by providing grants that support programs to enhance communities; assist artists and arts organizations; promote the arts in education and celebrate Mississippi’s cultural heritage. Established in 1968, the Mississippi Arts Commission is funded by the Mississippi Legislature, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Mississippi Endowment for the Arts at the Community Foundation for Mississippi and other private sources. The agency serves as an active supporter and promoter of arts in community life and arts education.
For information from the Mississippi Arts Commission, contact Anna Ehrgott, Communications Director, 601-359-6546 or aehrgott@arts.ms.gov.
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