English Department Assistant Professor Amber Caron won the ninth Phillip H. McMath Post Publication Book Award in prose for her short story collection, Call Up the Waters. The finalists were determined by the Arkansas Writers MFA Workshop, and the winners for prose and poetry were decided by Phillip H. McMath, award-winning writer and advocate of literature. According to the Arkansas Writers website, the award was created to “highlight, and promote stellar books by emerging writers” and “identify authors who can serve as role models for our students.” 

Amber’s publisher, Milkweed Editions, submitted her book for the award, and she was pleasantly surprised to know that she was not only nominated but the winner in the prose category. “I remain wildly grateful for all Milkweed has done to support me and this book,” Amber comments. “It means everything to know that my book is finding its way into the hands of readers who are in some way moved by the stories.” 

Call Up the Waters was a project that took almost ten years for Amber to write. “Part of the reason is that I was teaching a lot in those years—and I moved several times as well—but I was also just trying to figure out how to write stories, so there was a lot of trial and error,” she says.

The collection features ten stories about the daily lives of women and girls in rural America who are all shaped by where they live and work. Amber reflects, “As for inspiration, it’s so hard to pinpoint just one thing. Other writers, their stories. Images I couldn’t shake. Language I liked. Jobs I found intriguing. The environment around me. The key for me while writing this book—and really to all of my writing—is to just keep moving toward the things that interest me most, even if I’m not sure why I’m interested. The stories then really become the space where I work all that out.” 

Congratulations, Amber, on this national recognition and achievement!