Throughout his life Wood had an enduring passion for good literature and a deep appreciation of language.  He understood the magic and power of words and used them with precision and grace.  Those who talked with him or read his writing quickly recognized him as a man of words--a storyteller who upheld the richness of the oral tradition.  Wood also deeply loved the South, its people, and many of its traditions.  His love of the South and his gifts as a writer are apparent in his debut novel, First, the Fields, published in 1941 by the University of North Carolina Press.

On July 20, 1986, Wood died.  His wife, Frances Becker Wood, and his children, Sally Wood McDonald, Julia Turbiville Wood, Carolyn Cordelia Wood, and John Charles Wood, have endowed this award to honor Charles's lifelong commitments to excellence in writing, to the South, and to the quality of undergraduate education available at the University of North Carolina.

The Charles B. Wood Award for Distinguished Writing awards $500 to the author of the best poem or short story The Carolina Quarterly publishes during the year.  The endowment stipulates that the winner be an emerging writer; therefore, only those writers without major publication can be considered for this award.  The Carolina Quarterly announces the winner in the third issue of each volume.

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