Mississippi Humanities Council Honors Dr. Guinn for Excellence in Education

JACKSON, Miss. (January 16, 2026) – The Mississippi Humanities Council (MHC) has awarded Dr. Matthew Guinn, professor of creative writing and chair of the English Department at Belhaven University, the prestigious Mississippi Humanities Award. This special honor recognizes the contributions of humanities faculty at Mississippi’s colleges and universities.

“The Mississippi Humanities Award recognizes Dr. Guinn’s outstanding contributions to literature, teaching, and the humanities,” said Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Audrey Kelleher. “An accomplished novelist, scholar, and educator, Dr. Guinn challenges students to think deeply, write thoughtfully, and engage meaningfully with Southern and American literary traditions. This award affirms his lasting impact on students and the broader literary community.”

Each honoree is required to deliver a public lecture of their choosing related to their area of expertise. Details regarding Dr. Guinn’s lecture, including the topic, date, and location, will be announced at a later time. The lecture will be free and open to the public.

Dr. Guinn holds a Ph.D. in American literature with a minor specialization in Southern literature from the University of South Carolina. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia and a master’s degree from the University of Mississippi. He is the author of two novels, The Resurrectionist and The Scribe, both published by W.W. Norton, as well as the scholarly book After Southern Modernism, published by the University Press of Mississippi. His memoir “Real Country” was published online by The Bitter Southerner, and he has served as a book reviewer for The Clarion-Ledger. A novel and memoir are currently in progress.

Dr. Guinn has taught at Belhaven University for seven years, where his teaching focuses on prose workshops, advanced fiction courses, creative nonfiction, and senior capstone projects. His areas of expertise include the novel, short fiction, Southern literature, religion and literature, and creative nonfiction and memoir. He is also a regular panel moderator at the Mississippi Book Festival.

All award recipients will be recognized at the Mississippi Humanities Council’s annual awards banquet in the spring. The Mississippi Humanities Council is a private nonprofit corporation funded by Congress through the National Endowment for the Humanities and provides public programs in traditional liberal arts disciplines to serve nonprofit organizations across Mississippi.