Ellen Gilchrist, born in Vicksburg in 1935, was a Mississippi novelist and short story writer known for her independent Southern women characters, including Rhoda Manning, whose biography echoes Gilchrist’s own life. From her column in the Franklin Favorite as a teenager in Kentucky to her thirteen short story collections and seven novels, Gilchrist’s voice remained inimitable. Gilchrist won the National Book Award for Fiction in 1984 for Victory over Japan, became a commentator on NPR’s “Morning Edition,” and was a creative writing professor at the University of Arkansas. Occasionally, her outspokenness would get her into trouble, like when she told high school students in 1985 to ignore their parents and focus on their creative lives, setting off a media firestorm. This look into Gilchrist’s life and work includes an overview of her family of characters, audio and video clips from interviews, and a summary of literary criticism on her work.
