The University of South Carolina hosted the Neuffer Lecture in Southern Literature on October 17, 2024, celebrating the rich, complex tapestry of Southern life through the voices of its most esteemed writers.

About Jill McCorkle

Jill McCorkle had the distinction of publishing her first two novels on the same day in 1984. Of these novels, The New York Times Book Review wrote: “One suspects the author of The Cheer Leader is a born novelist. With July 7th, she is also a full grown one.” Since then, she published five additional novels—most recently Hieroglyphics (2020, Algonquin Books)—and five collections of short stories, including Old Crimes (2024). Five of her books were named New York Times Notable Books, and four of her stories appeared in Best American Short Stories. Her essay, “Cuss Time,” originally published in The American Scholar, was selected for Best American Essays.

McCorkle received numerous honors, including the New England Booksellers Award, the John Dos Passos Prize for Excellence in Literature, the North Carolina Award for Literature, and the Thomas Wolfe Prize. She was also inducted into the NC Literary Hall of Fame. Throughout her career, she taught at Harvard, Brandeis University, NC State University, and the Bennington Writing Seminars.