Covington native Andy Offutt Irwin has once again received national acclaim as a storyteller. He received the Just Plain Folks Award for Storytelling Album in Nashville on Aug. 29 for his CD Bootsie in Season. TOhe Just Plain Folks Awards are sponsored by the largest organization for independent recording artists in the world, and they considered over 42,000 albums and 360,000 songs for their various categories of awards for 2009.

Bootsie in Season was recorded in large part during a live event at Allen Memorial United Methodist Church in Oxford. It includes stories inspired by Andy’s years growing up in Newton County and is hilariously entertaining and heartwarming.

At the previous Just Plain Folks Awards in 2006, Irwin was also awarded Best Storytelling Album for his CD Christmas at Southern White Old Lady Hospital, a favorite among fans of his stories of Aunt Marguerite. As this awards ceremony is not an annual event, this gives Andy the distinction of being the back-to-back recipient of this prestigious award.

These awards are complemented by his Storytelling Resource Awards, where he has twice won Storytelling Album for Adult Listeners and once Story for Adult Listeners. For more information, go to www.andyirwin.com.

Needless to say, he is at high demand for storytelling festivals across the nation and is undeniably one of the most sought-after storytellers in the country. His unique style of telling, his ironic wit and uncanny understanding of human nature, added to his musical ability and seemingly infinite supply of dialects and incredible sound effects make him a favorite.

This newest accolade comes as no surprise.