Ellie Black '18 named winner of Honickman First Book Prize

Conway, Ark.— Hendrix Alumna Dr. Ellie Black ’18 was named winner of the 2026 American Poetry Review (APR)/Honickman First Book Prize with the submission of her book “Revelator.” Black is currently a visiting assistant professor in English–creative writing at Hendrix College. 

As winner of the APR/Honickman First Book Prize, Black will receive a cash prize of $3,000, a standard book publishing contract from Copper Canyon Press with additional royalties, and her winning title “Revelator“ will be published and distributed by Copper Canyon Press through Consortium in September. “Revelator” is available for pre-sale at national book retailers.   

This year’s judge, esteemed poet Dorothea Lasky, selected the collection as prizewinner. Lasky is an associate professor of writing at Columbia University School of the Arts. She has authored 10 books of poetry and prose and has been featured in The Paris Review, The New Yorker, American Poetry Review, and Boston Review.  

The American Poetry Review, in continuous publication since 1972, is “dedicated to serving a worldwide audience excellent contemporary poetry and literary criticism” and has published over 6,000 writers’ work.  

Originally from Clarksville, Arkansas, Black is a poet, memoirist, editor, critic, screenwriter, performer, and educator. 

Her poems have appeared in or are forthcoming from The Adroit Journal, Bennington Review, The Common, Washington Square Review, Mississippi Review, Poetry Online, Black Warrior Review, Best New Poets, DIAGRAM, and elsewhere. Her prose and criticism appear in Hayden's Ferry Review, Colorado Review, Georgia Review, Fandom Spotlite, and The Adroit Journal. 

A 2026 Gregory Djanikian Scholar and a finalist for the 2025 DISQUIET Prize in Poetry, Black has also received awards and recognition from The Pinch, the C.D. Wright Women Writer's Conference, the Poets' Roundtable of Arkansas, the University of Mississippi, Split Lip Magazine, the de Grummond Children’s Literature Collection at the University of Southern Mississippi, and the Austin Film Festival. 

“It feels so unbelievably special to be back at Hendrix for the publication of my first book,” said Black. “I never imagined when I accepted this job last year that I’d find out in my office—in the midst of a marathon finals-grading session—that I won the Honickman, or that I’d get to celebrate the book on campus this fall.”  

She is helping coordinate the visit of New York Times best-selling author and YouTuber John Green, which will coincide with her health humanities course this fall titled “John Green and the Illness Narrative.” The course was made possible through a grant from the Mellon Foundation. Green’s visit to Hendrix will culminate with a free public event on Nov. 18. 

“Dr. Black has an incredible gift for making students feel seen without ever letting us settle. She believes in our work so fiercely that it makes us want to rise to meet that belief,” said Shayla Freeman ’27, a Hendrix English-creative writing major from Little Rock. “She pushes me to take my writing more seriously and to believe that it is capable of more. I admire her enormously, both as a writer and as a teacher, and I genuinely find her so inspiring. I feel very lucky to learn from her.” 

While attending Hendrix College, Black was editor-in-chief of student-run literary magazine the Aonian, completed an internship at the Oxford American, was a writing associate in the Hendrix-Murphy Foundation-funded Writing Center, and was awarded the Isaac Andrew Campbell Memorial Prize for best senior thesis in creative writing.  

“There’s a poem in ‘Revelator’ that was in my Hendrix senior thesis,” shared Black. “I owe so much to this place and the people who have been part of my learning here. I hope I can give even a fraction of what they’ve given me to the students I teach at Hendrix now.” 

She graduated summa cum laude with distinction in English with a Bachelor of Arts in English-creative writing. 

“How serendipitous for Ellie to win the Honickman upon her return to Hendrix,” said Dr. Tyrone Jaeger, Hendrix-Murphy Foundation director and professor of English-creative writing. “Ellie’s poems are brilliant and sonically vibrant. I recently had the chance to hear Ellie read poems from ‘Revelator’ and each one was like listening to staged musicals where tempo, rhythm, and narrative abound. Hendrix is super proud of Ellie and excited about the release of ‘Revelator.’” 

Black went on to attend the University of Mississippi where she earned an M.F.A. in poetry and Ph.D. in English, creative writing concentration with an emphasis in nonfiction, memoir, and autotheory.  

About the Hendrix-Murphy Foundation 

The Hendrix-Murphy Foundation Programs in Literature and Language were founded in 1978 by a gift from Charles H. Murphy, Jr., former CEO of Murphy Oil Corporation, in memory of his mother Bertie Wilson Murphy. Their mission is to enhance and enrich the study of literature and language at Hendrix College. For more information, visit hendrixmurphy.org. 

About Hendrix College 
 
Founded in 1876, Hendrix College is featured in Colleges That Change Lives: 45 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About Colleges and celebrated among the country’s leading liberal arts colleges for academic quality, engaged learning opportunities and career preparation, vibrant campus life, and value. The Hendrix College Warriors compete in 21 NCAA Division III sports. Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. Learn more at hendrix.edu. 

“…Through engagement that links the classroom with the world, and a commitment to diversity, inclusion, justice, and sustainable living, the Hendrix community inspires students to lead lives of accomplishment, integrity, service, and joy.” –Hendrix College Statement of Purpose