The Olivia Pienezza Solomon and Jack Payne Solomon Foundation for Young Writers was established in memory of Mrs. Solomon, a native of Tallassee and a prolific writer.

Mrs. Solomon graduated from Tallassee High School in 1955 and received her B.A. and master’s degree from the University of Alabama.  She met Jack Solomon in 1959 when they were both teaching at Troy State. And thus began a 48 year marriage and collaboration of many books, including three volumes of folklore, a book of epitaphs, and, their last work, a history of Tallassee First United Methodist Church.

The goal of the foundation is the promotion of the love of writing. In 2009 the Foundation sponsored a writing contest for high school juniors and seniors in Elmore, Tallapoosa, and Macon counties and they plan to launch a middle school writing project in the fall of 2010. The Foundation also published its first book, 100 Memorable Tallasseans, spring of 2009 and is working on a second edition.

The ultimate goal of the foundation is to build a writers’ retreat in Tallassee, perhaps on the Pienezza property in Blackjack near Tallassee, which Mrs. Solomon inherited from her family.

Tiffany Scroggins of Notasulga, one of the winners of the Foundation’s 2009 competition(Left) and Stephanie Nunn (Right), two winners of the Foundation’s 2009 competition.
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