William Faulkner

Official Press Release

Tallahassee,  FL – A Tallahassee woman has been named a semi-finalist in the William Faulkner – William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition.  Beth Shankle Anderson’s memoir titled Mule’s Daughter was selected as a semi-finalist in the Essay Division making her the only Floridian to receive any of the distinguished designations within the Essay Division of the competition.  Her memoir was written in first person and recalls the events surrounding her father’s passing when she was a child.  She combines the first person narrative with the parallelism and symbolism of a tree that she and her father planted together a few years before his death.

With a passion for writing that spans across many genres, Beth Shankle Anderson’s publications include an article that was featured on the cover of the Florida Bar Journal entitled “Our Federalism” and, most recently, a feature article in Gulf Coast Bride magazine which was titled “Honey Lake Plantation: Where Wedded Bliss Meets Gulf Coast Tradition”.

The William Faulkner – William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition is based in New Orleans where William Faulkner, a Noble Laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner, lived and wrote his first novel, Soldiers’ Pay, in 1925. The competition is also named for literary scholar and collector William B. Wisdom of New Orleans who amassed a significant collection of memorabilia related to William Faulkner.  Mr. Wisdom’s daughter, Adelaide Wisdom Benjamin, was one of the earliest supporters of the Faulkner Society and was an instigator in the creation of the competition and underwrote the first prize for Best Novel.

In addition to writing, Beth is a licensed attorney who also hosts her own radio talk show called “The Success Design” which airs on Tuesdays at 4pm on BlogTalkRadio.com.  Having been on the air for approximately four years, she has amassed over 175,000 unique listeners and has hosted over 100 radio shows.  Beth’s guests have included two Olympic Gold Medalists, best-selling fiction and non-fiction authors, two Miss Americas, and many others.