Ann Beattie, U.Va.’s Edgar Allan Poe Professor of English and Creative Writing, has won a $30,000 Rea Award for the Short Story, established in 1986 by the late Michael M. Rea to honor a writer who has made significant contributions to the short story form. Rea judges noted that “Beattie is a writer for and of her time. … Her prose has become known for its vivid particularity, the details of the way we live.” The Washington Post concurs, having previously called her “one of the era’s most vital masters of the short form.” Beattie’s published works include eight collections of short stories, most recently, “Follies: New Stories.” Her work also has been included in John Updike’s Best American Short Stories of the Century.

Inside UVA

For more than 20 years, U.Va. students have given to the community by volunteering as firefighters with the Seminole Trail Volunteer Fire Department. James Aylor (right), dean of U.Va.’s School of Engineering and Applied Science, was on hand at the fire station Oct. 12 to help kick off Fire Prevention Week (Oct. 9-15) and the department’s annual fund drive. “Those who volunteer here get great leadership experience as they give community service — all the things that U.Va. strives to promote,” said Aylor, who volunteered with the department in the 1970s when he was a U.Va. student. Full story.

U.Va. News Services