Roxane Gay '92 to receive John and Elizabeth Phillips Award

General Alumni Association President, Trustee and Awards Committee Chair Betsy Fleming ’86 has announced that Roxane Gay ’92 will receive the 2023 John and Elizabeth Phillips Award, which recognizes an Exonian who has contributed significantly to the welfare of community, country or humanity.

As a writer, editor, and cultural critic, Gay has built a reputation as one of the preeminent commentators on contemporary society and its most pressing issues. Her books, including her bestselling essay collection Bad Feminist and her searing memoir Hunger, have earned international acclaim, and she made history by becoming the first Black woman to write a Marvel comic book (the Black Panther companion series World of Wakanda). Gay was awarded a Guggenheim fellowship in 2018 and has been the recipient of numerous literary awards. More recently, she has partnered with Grove Atlantic to launch Roxane Gay Books, a publishing imprint that focuses on underrepresented voices.

Gay has taught creative writing at Occidental College, Eastern Illinois University, Purdue University and Yale University, among other institutions. She currently holds the Gloria Steinem Endowed Chair in Media, Culture, and Feminist Studies at Rutgers University.

Roxane Gay will receive the John and Elizabeth Phillips Award and speak during assembly on October 27.