William Cory Wickware went by Cory to all who knew him. He was a great friend, wonderful husband to Kim, and a keeper of others’ writings. He attended Mount Pleasant High School in Texas and was a part of the Creative Writing program, working on the school literary journal alongside GTP Editors Karen Cline-Tardiff and Jennifer Taylor. Throughout his too-short life, Cory consistently encouraged his friends and was a supporter of the arts and those who created.  He was a fierce ally to the LGBTQIA+ community. He was a safe space. He kept the writings  of all his friends. Upon his death, his wife Kim returned as many as she could to their original writers. What a legacy he collected and then gifted back to those of us lucky enough to have been his friend. 

The William Cory Wickware Memorial Prize for First Poetry Chapbook seeks to honor his legacy by encouraging writers, no matter what stage of their life and career, by offering a prize and publication of a first poetry chapbook. The slender volumes of poetry harken back to his days editing and working on the literary journal in high school, a small volume with big voices.