VCU Publishing announces the third annual VCU Publishing Awards. These awards recognize scholarship and creativity from VCU Publishing's journal partners. 

VCU Libraries publishes seven open access peer-reviewed scholarly journals. VCU Publishing also hosts the archives of the Virginia War Memorial Foundation's Mighty Pen Project, which provides creative writing instruction for veterans and their families.

Publishing partners were asked to nominate representative works from their most recent journal volumes that demonstrate VCU Publishing’s goals to advance research, creative expression, and learning.

The awardees for 2024 are:

Travis Harris, Scott "lyfestile" Woods, Dana Horton, M. Nicole Horsley and Shayne McGregor, for their article Funk What You Heard: Hip Hop Is a Field of Study, from Vol. 9, Issue 1 of the Journal of Hip Hop Studies.

Revisiting foundational theories and methods intrinsic to the field of Hip Hop Studies, this field-shifting article provides a clear definition of Hip Hop and the discipline. It addresses the gap in Hip Hop Studies' methodology of focusing on lyrical analysis and provides theories and methods that can not only transform the field but also make changes in the world.

Chuck Williamson, for his story The Sphere, from the Mighty Pen Project. 

Williamson, a lifelong Virginian and Richmond native, is a veteran of the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division. Since leaving the military he has been involved in both "The Mighty Pen" and "War In Pieces" programs at the Virginia War Memorial. His story focuses on war as presented in a rare setting, loneliness.

Based in VCU Libraries, VCU Publishing amplifies VCU scholarly and research findings, and provides publishing opportunities and experiences for VCU students and faculty. VCU Publishing includes a portfolio of platforms and publishing services, and seeks partnerships within VCU and the Greater Richmond community to broaden that portfolio in ways that advance research, creative expression, and learning at VCU and for the region.

To learn more about publishing with VCU Libraries, contact publishing@vcu.edu.