The Fellowship of Southern Writers is an American literary organization that celebrates the creative vitality of Southern writing as the mirror of a distinctive and cherished regional culture. Its fellowships and awards draw attention to outstanding literary achievement and help to nurture new talent.

The fellowship was founded in 1987 in Chattanooga, Tennessee by 21 Southern writers and other literary luminaries.^[1] The group meets in every odd-numbered year, usually during the SouthWord Literature Festival hosted by the Southern Lit Alliance in Chattanooga, TN. Southern Literature.

Charter members

Elected members

Awards and honors

• The Hillsdale Prize for Fiction
• The Hanes Prize for Poetry
• The Robert Penn Warren Award for Fiction
• The Bryan Family Foundation Award for Drama
• The Cecil Woods, Jr. Prize for Non-Fiction
• The Fellowship's New Writing Award for Fiction
• The C. Vann Woodward-John Hope Franklin Prize for the Writing of Southern History
• The James Still Award for Writing About the Appalachian South
• The Fellowship's New Award for Poetry
• The Cleanth Brooks Medal for Distinguished Achievement in Southern Letters