Monic Ductan, associate professor of English at Tennessee Tech University, has been named the inaugural recipient of the Tennessee Book Award in the fiction category for her first book, Daughters of Muscadine: Stories (University of Kentucky Press, 2023), a collection of short stories about Black women, rural women, Appalachian women, and working-class women. The award, presented by Humanities Tennessee and the Tennessee State Library and Archives, recognizes the year’s best works in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry written by Tennessee residents.
Dr. Ductan joined the faculty at Tennessee Tech University in 2018. She teaches several courses on literature and creative writing, including introductory courses and advanced writing workshops. She has published numerous poems, short fiction stories, and creative nonfiction works in several journals, such as Oxford American and Kestrel: a Journal of Literature and Art.
Dr. Ductan holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Georgia State University, a master of fine arts degree in creative writing from Georgia College, and a Ph.D. in English with an emphasis on creative writing and literature from the University of Southern Mississippi.