Claudia Smith Brinson to Be Inducted into the South Carolina Academy of Authors

February 4, 2026 | by uscpress

Claudia Smith Brinson, author of Stories of Struggle and Injustice in Focus, will be inducted to the South Carolina Academy of Authors, the state's literary hall of fame, during the biennial induction weekend March 20-22, 2026 in Aiken, SC. Additional inductees include Dianne Johnson-Feelings, past USC Press Press Committee member, Augustus Jenkins Farmer III, and J. Drew Lanham.

The South Carolina Academy of Authors (SCAA) inducts a new group of honorees every two years whose works has been judged as culturally important. Each inductee has contributed to South Carolina’s literary legacy by earning notable scholarly attention or achieving historical prominence. Since its founding in 1986, the SCAA has inducted more than 100 authors into its literary hall of fame.

About the 2026 Honorees:

Claudia Smith Brinson worked as a journalist for more than 30 years in Florida, Greece, and South Carolina. Her reporting in The State won more than three dozen state and regional awards; Brinson also won national awards for her long-form journalism and short-story writing. Brinson is also the author of two major civil rights volumes.

J. Drew Lanham is a poet, memoirist, naturalist, playwright, professor, and a recipient of a 2022 MacArthur Fellowship "genius" grant. Lanham is the Poet Laureate of Edgefield County and a Distinguished Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Master Teacher at Clemson University.

With degrees in plant science and museum sciences, Augustus Jenkins Farmer (Jenks Farmer), has trained and mentored more than 100 interns and budding horticulturists while writing, building gardens, and inspiring plant lovers. Jenks has authored five books and is a highly rated presenter for organizations ranging from the Smithsonian to the North Carolina State Museum.

Dr. Dianne Johnson-Feelings (pen name Dinah Johnson), has written ten books for children, all celebrating African American culture and community. As a professor at the University of South Carolina, Dr. Dianne Johnson-Feelings (pen name Dinah Johnson) studies, teaches, and writes about Black children's literature and its history.

Read the South Carolina Academy of Authors announcement.