- 2021 Norma Fox Mazer award, Vermont College of Fine Arts, Program in Writing for Children and Young Adults
- 2021 Doris Betts Fiction Contest semifinalist
- Compulsion Reads Endorsement for Wendy Redbird Dancing
- Grant recipient, Elizabeth George Foundation
- Runner-up, James Jones First Novel Fellowship
- Finalist, NCSU’s Short-short Fiction contest , “3.0,” judged by Madison Smartt Bell
- AROHO Orlando Short Fiction Prize , “The Flat and Weightless Tang-Filled Future”
- Finalist, Glimmer Train Family Matters contest, “3.0”
- Finalist, Writers’ Group of the Triad contest, “Retrograde,” judged by Shannon Ravenel
- Elizabeth Daniels Squire Writers-in-Residence with Doris Betts, courtesy of the North Carolina Writers’ Network
- USA Today All-USA Third Team Award, teaching
- Distinguished Teacher with the Presidential Scholars program
“I have judged a lot of books for various contests, and this is the first novel I’ve judged where I got so absorbed in the story that I completely forgot I was judging/reviewing it for a contest. It became my evening reading for pure pleasure, and one I HAD to finish…The dialogue is so authentic I felt I was right there with Wendy, trying to desperately figure out how to deal with it all. The author, Lyn Fairchild Hawks, obviously knows this age group well and is in touch with their tastes, attitudes, habits and speech patterns. She drew me in so completely that I found myself thinking about Wendy and her problems as I was falling asleep and waking up, which rarely happens to me, unless the story and characters are so gripping I can’t turn them off. I highly recommend this book to readers who love a gripping YA story that deals openly with real problems teenagers encounter.” —Judge, Writer’s Digest 21st Annual Self-Published Book Awards
Writing isn’t just about talent expressed in an isolated garret. Writing needs patrons—the grant foundations, awards programs, and writers’ networks, such as the James Jones First Novel Fellowship, A Room of One’s Own foundation, and the North Carolina Writers’ Network. I see these awards as faith in my blueprints and celebration of the first steps I took to start the building.
The gift from the Elizabeth George Foundation was the cornerstone that started my career. Now people can see the home I’ve begun where many stories will live. I aspire to be like Ms. George who has written over 20 books and made more than a mark on her genre.
I am so grateful to all these groups that saw fit to give me opportunity, time, and funding for my work.