Terry Hughes was 36 when she died of breast cancer on July 22, 1991. A columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, her writing was clear, witty and descriptive, with a flair for portraying society’s underdogs. Some of her columns chronicled the bouts with cancer that she and others faced. One column was credited with helping persuade the Missouri Legislature to approve a bill forcing insurers to pay for mammograms.
One of the many readers who wrote to the newspaper after her death described her work this way: “Her columns were full of real life stories that touched us all and even changed our way of thinking or even our lives.”
The United Media Guild issues a writing award in the name of Ms. Hughes. The award is intended to honor a journalist whose writing shows the talent that she displayed.
Any journalist in the metropolitan St. Louis area who has written for a daily or weekly newspaper, a magazine or an on-line publication is eligible.
Single articles of extraordinary merit will be considered. Preference will be given to entries of between three and ten articles that display the writer’s range of talent.
Articles must have been published in 2019. There are no formal applications. Anyone may submit a nomination by sending copies of articles to:
The Terry Hughes Award Committee
United Media Guild
1015 Locust St.
Suite 735
St. Louis, Mo. 63101
The deadline for applications is January 16, 2020. The panel of judges is comprised of previous award winners. The award will be presented by the United Media Guild at its annual dinner February 6.