Southern Author Elizabeth Spencer Awarded $30,000 Prize

NEW YORK (AP) — Elizabeth Spencer, a revered Southern author still active in her 90s, has won a $30,000 short story prize.

The 92-year-old Spencer has won the Rea Award for lifetime achievement in short fiction, the Dungannon Foundation announced Monday. Previous recipients include John Updike, Alice Munro and Spencer's longtime friend, Eudora Welty.

A native of Mississippi who now lives in North Carolina, Spencer has published nine novels and eight story collections. Her latest book of stories, "Starting Over," came out earlier this year. She is best known for the novella "Light In the Piazza," which has been adapted into a feature film and Broadway show.

The Dungannon Foundation is a nonprofit established in 1986 by the award's founder, Michael Rea, to administer the prize.

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