15 Facts About Crystal Wilkinson

Crystal E Wilkinson is an African-American feminist writer from Kentucky, and proponent of the Affrilachian Poet movement.

Crystal Wilkinson is winner of a 2022 NAACP Image Award and a 2021 O Henry Prize winner; she is a 2020 USA Fellow of Creative Writing.

Crystal Wilkinson's work has primarily involved the stories of Black women and communities in the Appalachian and rural Southern canon.

Early in her career, Crystal Wilkinson was a public information officer and community relations manager for the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, editing their quarterly environmental newsletter and handling media relations for special projects.

Crystal Wilkinson began volunteering her time to public service in Lexington, most notably the Roots and Heritage Festival, helping with publicity and coordinating the literary readings.

In 2000, Crystal Wilkinson published her first volume, the short-story collection Blackberries, Blackberries, which would go on to receive the Chaffin Award for Appalachian Literature.

In 1997, Crystal Wilkinson became the Assistant Director for the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning in Lexington, Kentucky, where she taught short courses and implemented many different programs and activities for Kentucky's literary arts scene.

Crystal Wilkinson served as chair of the creative writing department from 1997 to 2001.

Crystal Wilkinson has taught creative writing at Eastern Kentucky University, Indiana University Bloomington, and at Morehead State University.

Crystal Wilkinson currently conducts research in "Creative Writing, Fiction, The Short Story Cycle, Black Culture in Appalachia, Mental Illness in Literature, [and] Women and the Black Rural Landscape".

Crystal Wilkinson has presented many workshops and given readings in the US, including:.

Crystal Wilkinson is the first Black woman appointed to that position.

Crystal Wilkinson is the recipient of many awards and fellowships, including the 2016 Ernest Gaines Fellowship for Literary Excellence and the Sallie Bingham Award from the Kentucky Foundation for Women for the promotion of activism and feminist artist expression.

In 2006, Crystal Wilkinson was the Guest Fiction Editor and featured writer for Nantahala Review.

Crystal Wilkinson has gained recognition from the United States Artists in being awarded a position as a 2020 USA Fellow.