The Marilyn Brown Novel Award was an occasional award given to the best unpublished novel focusing on realistic cultural experiences of the Utah region submitted for consideration.
[1] The award was founded by Marilyn Brown and her husband to encourage quality fiction focused on regional Mormon experience.
Beginning in 2000, the award was presented every other year by the Association for Mormon Letters.
Jen Wahlquist was the professor in charge, and she broadened the award's scope to all fiction about the Utah region with the intent to make it an annual award.
[2] Upon Walquist's retirement and given a low number of novel submissions, the endowment was repurposed into a scholarship fund for UVU students, and renamed the Marilyn & Bill Brown Endowed Writing Scholarship.