2020 Holle Award Winners Announced

The College of Communication and Information Sciences has announced the winners of the 2020 Holle Awards for Excellence in Creativity and Communication.

The awards are designed to celebrate and reward student achievement in the areas of book arts, filmmaking, media writing, screenwriting and public speaking. Each of these awards include a $10,000 prize.

• The Holle Award for Excellence in Book Arts was awarded to University of the Arts MFA student Maria Welch for her piece, “Erratic Obsession,” a multi-directional accordion structure with text sourced from Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” (1892) and Annie Payson Call’s “Nerves and Common Sense” (1909).
• The Holle Award for Excellence in Filmmaking was awarded to University of Alabama student Magdalene Kennedy for “Losing Face,” a short film about a girl living in a self-contained world who learns how to get out of her own head.
• The Holle Award for Excellence in Media Writing was awarded to The University of Alabama’s James Ogletree for his piece, “Josh Jobe Beats the Odds,” which chronicled the long journey for Crimson Tide cornerback Josh Jobe from Miami to Tuscaloosa.
• The Holle Award for Excellence in Screenwriting was awarded to The University of Alabama’s Nick Stellon, a senior TCF major, for his work, “The Butcher and the Beast.” Judges praised the script, saying, “I could not stop thinking about this story. I write this four days after having first read this script, and this story would not leave me. I can’t think of a more original idea in recent memory.”

“The 2020 Holle Award winners are true exemplars in the field of communication ,” said Dr. Mark Nelson, dean of the College of Communication and Information Sciences. “Students from all areas of the country compete for these awards and their talents are extraordinary. Brigadier General Everett Holle believed in supporting excellence in communication and creativity and these award winners represent his legacy well.”

This year, due to the coronavirus, the Holle Award for Excellence in Public Speaking is not being awarded.

The Holle Awards are named for Brigadier General Everett Hughes Holle, a 1950 graduate of The University of Alabama who served as an announcer, director, writer and producer during his 40-year career at NBC 13. Holle was a member of the College of Communication and Information Sciences’ board of visitors where he passionately invested in the success of University of Alabama students for years. In 2019, the Holle Family Foundation gave the largest donation in College history, part of which went towards funding the Holle Awards for Excellence in Creativity and Communication.