He said, “I loved stained-glass, so I studied everything I could about it and that’s all that I’ve ever done.” Young established Pearl River Glass Studio in 1975. It quickly became the hub for his remarkable career creating stained glass windows for churches, public spaces, and other places. Young’s reputation for professionalism has allowed him to create a separate body of work. Walter Anderson, for example, was a decorator in his family’s business. He was a functional artist and a working artist. He also created a lot of his own art. Young stated that this is the art that made him a famous artist. It’s almost like playing the piano. Concert pianists don’t just magically appear on stage. He must practice. I practice my skills when it comes to designing windows for churches or other buildings. Young was one of two recipients of MIAL’s lifetime achievement award. MIAL was established in 1978 and supports, nurtures, and recognizes Mississippi’s artist, including fiction and nonfiction writers, visual artists and musical composers. The recipients of the awards this year, which will be presented at a banquet Saturday at Two Mississippi Museums in Jackson, must be Mississippi residents or have strong ties to the state. MIAL members are eligible to nominate. Young will host an open house at Pearl River Glass Studios on Saturday, 10 am to 11 am. The tour will be accompanied by “Introspective,” an exhibit of Young’s art through the years. Young stated that the show was a good example of what the MIAL award means. Stencil glass tells a story. Each piece tells a story. Story and art are closely linked in the South. We are all about stories in Mississippi. “That’s what my church windows are doing.” Young presented on the window he designed for the newly opened Mississippi Arts & Entertainment Experience, Meridian. Andy is a wonderful person. Dunlap stated that unlike many artists who leave the state to pursue their art – and I am in that group – Andy stayed in Mississippi where he carved out a successful life doing the art he loves. Young is a co-recipient of the Noel Polk Lifetime Achievement Award. It was named in honor of MIAL cofounder. Robert Ivy is a Columbus native who serves as the executive vice president and chief executive officers of the American Institute of Architects. Ivy is an accomplished writer. He was the editor-in-chief for Architectural Record and the author of Fay Jones Architect, which was published in 2001. It is now in its third printing. The 39th Annual Mississippi Institute for Arts & Letters will award a special achievement award for The Mississippi Encyclopedia. This huge undertaking was done by Ted Ownby, and Charles Reagan Wilson. The nine-pound book contains 1,500 essays from 650 authors about Mississippi. They cover everything, from agriculture and academics to Zig Ziglar. The 2018 MIAL category winners were: Michael Knight, fiction — Knight received his master’s of art at the University of Southern Mississippi. He is the author of The Typist and Divining Rod as well as a number of short stories and novellas. The Typist was named Best Book of the year by The Huffington Post, The Kansas City Star and was also on Oprah’s Reading List in 2011. Eveningland (Atlantic Monthly Press), his newest collection of stories was published in March 2017. Knight lives with his family in Knoxville, Tenn. and teaches creative writing at The University of Tennessee. John T. Edge, Nonfiction — Edge is the director of Southern Foodways Alliance and a James Beard Award recipient. Edge is the author of Potlikker Papers, A Food History of the Modern South. He has always understood the South’s stories, food, and culture. His work celebrates this in a way that makes Southerners proud of their heritage, while also helping others understand and appreciate it. Poetry by Molly McCully Brown. Brown’s collection of poetry, The Virginia State Colony For Epileptics And Feebleminded won the 2016 Lexi Rudnitsky Book Prize. It was also named a New York Times Critics Top Book of 2017. Brown was born in rural Virginia and graduated from Bard College at Simon’s Rock at Stanford University. She also earned an MFA degree in poetry at the University of Mississippi. James S. Sclater (classical music composition) –Sclater is an Clinton resident who studied music theory at the University of Southern Mississippi. For his six-movement vocal and piano work Carmine Natura Creaturae (based on Viola Dacus’ poems), he will receive the MIAL award in classical music composition. Shannon McNally, music composition (contemporary). — McNally moved to Holly Springs in 2013, a New York suburb where her parents resided and where McNally settled after a difficult divorce. McNally was a Franklin and Marshall College student who played in clubs before she moved. After earning her degree, McNally began busking in Paris in 1997 and was offered a contract by Capitol Records. She has lived in Los Angeles, New Orleans and was even produced by Dr. John. She fled Katrina and moved to Mississippi, where she found Mississippi Hill Country Blues. This music has been her inspiration ever since. Rodney Crowell produced her latest album, Black Irish. Jack Spencer, photography — Spencer was a Kosciusko native and is well-known for his portraiture work and manipulation of images of haunting, antiquated scenes in the American South. This includes images of horses and trees, as well as images of the Southern landscape. He lives in Nashville. Charlie Buckley, visual art — Buckley received his bachelor’s degree from Ole Miss and his MFA from Miami University. He currently owns a studio in Tupelo where he paints scenes from Mississippi, including cityscapes and nature.