Southeastern's Armand recognized with Louisiana Writer Award
Tuesday, October 4, 2022
by: Tonya Lowentritt
HAMMOND – Southeastern Louisiana University Assistant Professor of Creative Writing
David Armand has been selected as the recipient of the 23rd annual Louisiana Writer
Award by the Louisiana Center for the Book in the State Library. The award is given
to a contemporary Louisiana author in recognition of an outstanding contribution to
Louisiana’s literary and intellectual life exemplified by the writer’s body of work.
“Professor Armand is a truly gifted writer and teacher. He is skilled in a variety
of genres, and communicates his love of words to all of his students,” said College
of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Dean Karen Fontenot. “We are so lucky to have
him at Southeastern, and I'm thrilled that he has received this honor.”
A native of Folsom and resident of Hammond with both undergraduate and graduate
degrees in English from Southeastern, Armand has published four novels, The Pugilist’s
Wife, Harlow, The Gorge, and The Lord’s Acre, all set in Louisiana; two poetry chapbooks,
The Deep Woods and Debt, a full-length poetry collection, The Evangelist, soon to
be released; and a memoir, My Mother’s House. Armand is also the author of an upcoming
collection of creative nonfiction essays, Mirrors, to be published by University of
Louisiana at Lafayette Press in spring 2023.
Armand served as Writer-in-Residence at Southeastern from 2017-2019 and has been
recognized as a “Gambit Magazine” “40 Under 40” recipient.
In 2016 he was honored with Southeastern’s President’s Award for Artistic Activity,
the Southeastern Faculty Senate President’s Award, and was named the St. Tammany President’s
Artist of the Year. His first novel, “The Pugilist’s Wife,” earned the George Garrett
Fiction Prize, and his second novel, “Harlow,” was listed on Amazon’s best novels
about dysfunctional families.
“I’ve been so deeply honored to not only receive this award for my work, but
also by the tremendous amount of support and kindness from the people in the Southeastern
community, as well as throughout the state and beyond,” Armand said. “I know that
my getting this award has been possible, in very large part, because of that spirit
of kindness and generosity for which this state is so well-known. And I only hope
my work can shine a bright light on that for more people to see.”
The Louisiana Writer Award will be presented to Armand at an opening ceremony
of the Louisiana Book Festival on Saturday, Oct. 29, in Baton Rouge.