Mary Troy
An award-winning novelist and short story writer whose fiction has drawn comparisons in The New York Times will bring her work to a small Arkansas college campus this week, offering a rare free public event for regional readers.
Mary Troy, recipient of the 2025 Leila Lenore Heasley Prize for Fiction at Lyon College, will give a public reading at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Bevens Music Room of the Brown Chapel and Fine Arts Building, 2300 Highland Rd., on the Lyon College campus. Admission is free.
Troy is the author of six books, including the novels “Swimming on Hwy N” and “Beauties” and four short story collections. Her work has earned the USA Book Award for literary fiction, the Devil’s Kitchen Reading Award, a Nelson Algren Award and a William Rockhill Nelson Award, among other honors.
“Mary’s fiction is both powerful and graceful, and we are honored to welcome her to Batesville as this year’s recipient,” said Dr. Terrell Tebbetts, who holds the Martha Heasley Cox Chair in American Literature at Lyon College and organizes the annual prize event.
Troy taught for more than 24 years in the Master of Fine Arts program at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, where she also served a decade as editor of Natural Bridge, a journal of contemporary literature. She has received the University of Missouri System Award for Leadership and the Missouri Governor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.
The Leila Lenore Heasley Prize is an endowed award presented annually to a noted writer for significant contributions to American literature. Past recipients include Ron Rash, Alice McDermott and Lee Smith.
For more information, contact Tebbetts at terrell.tebbetts@lyon.edu.
Image: Lyon College
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