Columbus County author wins North Carolina’s top fiction award
RALEIGH, NC (WWAY) — A Columbus County author is receiving statewide recognition for his debut novel after being named the winner of the 2026 Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction.
Joshua Trent Brown, a writer from Cerro Gordo, earned the honor for his novel, “The Walls Are Closing in on Us,” published by Malarkey Books in March 2026.
The award is part of the annual North Carolina Book Awards, which recognize significant literary works by North Carolina writers.
According to the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, Brown’s novel was selected from 30 nominated books this year, compared with 17 nominations in 2025.
Brown is an author, communications professional and musician.
He will be recognized alongside other award recipients during the annual meeting of the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association on Dec. 4 in Raleigh.
Other North Carolina authors recognized
The state also announced winners in nonfiction, poetry and children’s literature.
Judkin Browning, a professor of military history at Appalachian State University, received the Ragan Old North State Award for Nonfiction for “Deserter Declarations: Letters from North Carolinians Who Abandoned Their Confederate Units.”
The book examines nearly 200 letters written by Confederate deserters and people petitioning on their behalf.
Poet Ina Cariño received the Roanoke Chowan Award for Poetry for “Reverse Requiem,” a collection exploring mental health, ancestry, human connection and healing.
Chrystal D. Giles won the NC AAUW Young People’s Literature Award in the middle-grade category for “Listen to the Girls.”
Carolyn Bennett Fraiser received the children’s picture book award for “M Is for Mason Jar: A Homesteading Alphabet.”
Ceremony scheduled for December
The 2026 North Carolina Book Awards will be presented Friday, Dec. 4, at 1 p.m. during the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association’s annual meeting.
The ceremony will take place in the ground-floor auditorium at 109 E. Jones St. in Raleigh.
Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle, author of “Even As We Breathe” and winner of the 2021 Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award, will deliver the keynote address.
Clapsaddle will also receive this year’s George Moses Horton Memorial Award for Significant Contributions to North Carolina Literature.
Additional achievement awards will recognize historians Robert R. Korstad and James L. Leloudis, along with PlayMakers Repertory Company of Chapel Hill.
The ceremony is free and open to the public.
Attendees are encouraged to RSVP by emailing parker.backstrom@dncr.nc.gov.
Founded in 1900, the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association works to recognize literary achievements and preserve the state’s historical resources.
The North Carolina Book Awards program is administered by the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
