News Release

Local angles: Charlotte

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Charlotte’s Chan awarded Wolfe Scholarship
in creative writing at UNC-Chapel Hill

By KARAH REMPE
UNC College of Arts and Sciences

CHAPEL HILL –Andrew Chan, 17, of Charlotte has been awarded the third Thomas Wolfe Scholarship in creative writing at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The scholarship will provide Chan, a poet and film critic, with full funding for four years of college beginning this fall.

"We found Andrew Chan to be absolutely effervescent, both in person and on the page," said Bland Simpson, associate professor of English, director of the creative writing program and co-director of the scholarship program, all in the College of Arts and Sciences. "Whether he is writing poetry or journalism about music and film, Chan's work is exceptionally clear and lively -- there's something enchanting about him and his work."

The scholarship reading committee was impressed by Chan’s dedication and focus.

"Writing wasn’t just a weekend hobby for him, but a calling," said Marianne Gingher, assistant professor of English and co-director of the scholarship. "He communicated genuine passion for the written word and an eagerness to be part of Carolina's thriving literary community, whether he won the scholarship or not."

Chan, the son of Way Chan and Long Che Chan of 10028 Paradise Ridge Road, Charlotte, graduated from Providence High School June 11. He has won national and regional awards for his writing. He also has published film reviews and maintains a Web site featuring his film criticism. At 15, Chan was cited by Boston Phoenix film critic Gerald Peary as "the youngest critic of note in America."

Chan has won first place in fiction from the North Carolina Scholastic Media Association, a silver key for poetry from the national Scholastic Art and Writing Awards and an honorable mention for expository writing from the National Federation for the Advancement of the Arts. He studied English at the North Carolina Governor’s School last summer.

"I need to learn the craft of the art to which I have dedicated my life, and I cannot wait for college to expand not only my love for what I do, but also my discipline and technique," said Chan, who cites Toni

Morrison, Pauline Kael and Arthur Miller among his favorite authors. "More and more, I realize that there is so much I still do not know about what I love, and at this point in my life, I feel that it is time to grow up as both a writer and a human being."

The scholarship honors author and UNC alumnus Thomas Wolfe, who garnered lasting recognition with the publication of his 1929 novel, "Look Homeward, Angel." Candidates are chosen for submitted written work, which can include poetry, fiction, literary non-fiction and drama. The recipient must possess focused literary ability, with artistic merit as the chief criterion.

Frank Borden Hanes Sr. of Winston-Salem, a novelist, poet, and retired journalist who graduated from UNC in 1942, contributed $2 million to establish the scholarship. Hanes, who founded UNC’s Arts and Sciences Foundation in 1975, has long supported faculty and programs in the literary arts.

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(Karah Rempe is a graduate student in the department of English.)

Photo URL:  http://www.unc.edu/news/pics/students/chan_andrew.jpg

Contact: Andrew Chan, 704-752-3998

English department contacts: Bland Simpson, 919-962-4007; Marianne Gingher, 919-962-0468
College of Arts and Sciences contact: Dee Reid 919-843-6339
News Services contacts: Print, L.J. Toler, 919-962-8589; broadcast, Karen Moon, 919-962-8595