A group of distinguished North Carolinians — including WCU’s Ron Rash — will receive the North Carolina Award, the highest civilian honor the state bestows, at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 10, at the N. C. Museum of History.

Rash’s work shows his deep respect for mountain people, language, history, and culture. He is the author of 14 books, which range from novels to collections of short stories to volumes of poetry. The holder of the John Parris Chair in Appalachian Studies at WCU, Rash has reaped a harvest of prizes, among them the Novello Festival Novel Award, the O. Henry Award, the Sir Walter Raleigh Award, and the Frank O’Connor Award. In 2004 his life and work was the focus of the annual literary festival at Emory and Henry College, and in 2011 he was inducted into the Fellowship of Southern Writers.

Other honorees this year are Charles E. Hamner Jr., of Chapel Hill and H. Martin Lancaster of Raleigh, both for public service; Trudy F.C. Mackay of Raleigh, for science; and Vollis Simpson of Lucama, and Branford Marsalis of Durham, both for fine arts. The Awards are administered by the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources

For a complete list of recipients and to learn more about the awards, go to www.ncculture.com.