BOONE, N.C.—Madelyn Marie Kittle, a senior majoring in English with a concentration in creative writing and film studies, has been awarded Appalachian State University’s 2017-18 Truman Capote Literary Trust Award for Creative Writing.

A student from Franklin County, Kittle won the $3,511 award for two stories – “Endocarditis” about her experience with opiate addiction and open-heart surgery at 23 and “War Stories” about the sacrifice one young person in a relationship makes for another.

“I like to write about things that happen in my real life and of those close to me, to express injustices and triumphs that I feel and want to share with others,” Kittle said. “Above all, I write because it makes me happy and it makes me feel as if I am fulfilling my purpose.”

Kittle came to Appalachian after graduating from Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute. She is now in the honors program within Appalachian’s Department of English.

She founded Appalachian’s Creative Writers last year, a club for students who want to work to sharpen their writing skills and collaborate on flash fiction, a genre under 500 words.

She is also a staff member of “The Peel,” Appalachian’s student-run literary magazine. In her junior year, she won the Marian Coe Scholarship in Creative Writing. She is considering attending graduate school to pursue a Master of Fine Arts in fiction writing.

“I feel so nurtured by the English department at Appalachian,” she said. “The classes that I’ve taken in literature, film and disciplinary writing have really helped me advance my writing to a more literary level, for which I’m incredibly grateful.”

Halle Carter, a senior from Charlotte majoring in English with a concentration in creative writing, was runner-up in the Truman Capote competition.

Members of the non-creative writing faculty in the English department handled the preliminary judging. The final judge for the award was Toney Frazier, who teaches film studies in the Department of English.

The Truman Capote Literary Trust Award in Creative Writing is open to rising or continuing juniors or seniors at Appalachian who are English majors with a concentration in creative writing. The award alternates between fiction and poetry and is supported by the Truman Capote Literary Trust Fund, endowed by the late author’s estate to support scholarships in Appalachian’s creative writing program.

About the College of Arts and Sciences

The College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) at Appalachian State University is home to 17 academic departments, two centers and one residential college. These units span the humanities and the social, mathematical and natural sciences. CAS aims to develop a distinctive identity built upon our university's strengths, traditions and locations. The college’s values lie not only in service to the university and local community, but through inspiring, training, educating and sustaining the development of its students as global citizens. More than 6,800 student majors are enrolled in the college. As the college is also largely responsible for implementing App State’s general education curriculum, it is heavily involved in the education of all students at the university, including those pursuing majors in other colleges. Learn more at https://cas.appstate.edu.

About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, cost-effective education. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.

What do you think?

Share your feedback on this story.