Publishers Lunch
National Book Foundation "5
under 35" honoree Claire
Vaye Watkins has claimed two new honors in the same week. She
prevailed over Dan Chaon and Junot Diaz to win the Story Prize for her book BATTLEBORN,
and she is also is receiving the American
Academy of Arts and Letters award given to "a young
writer of considerable literary talent for a work published in 2012."
The Academy named 19
recipients in all of a total of $175,000 in literature prizes this year. A
new E.B. White Award for achievement in children's literature has been given to
author of TUCK
EVERLASTING, Natalie
Babbitt. Kevin
Powers picks up another award for THE
YELLOW BIRDS, and Jennifer
Egan is receiving their biennial award for "a writer in
mid-career whose work has demonstrated consistent excellence." The medal
for an outstanding short story writer, given every six years, goes to Lydia
Davis, and Mischa
Berlinski (author of 2007 National Book Award finalist FIELDWORK)
received their prize for a young writer.
As for membership in the American Academy of Arts and Letters
itself, they added
author Ward Just
to their 250-person ranks. Writer Damon
Galgut was given honorary foreign membership and Bob Dylan is an
honorary American member. Michael
Chabon will give the annual address--titled Rock 'n' Roll--at
the induction of the newest members.
Tan Twang Eng won
the Man Asian Literary
Prize for his novel THE
GARDEN OF EVENING MISTS, which was also shortlisted for the Booker last
year.
The start-up $60,000 UK literature award
founded by Aiken Alexander agent Andrew Kidd will be sponsored by The Folio
Society, "publisher of beautiful illustrated books." As noted as part
of the heavily-hyped, embargoed and press-conferenced announcement on
Wednesday, the award will be known as The
Folio Prize. The UK is already thick with book awards, but this
one is being positioned as alternative Booker (just as awards in other
countries like the NBAs are trying to make themselves more Booker-like.) A
newly-formed "Academy"
of authors and critics will nominate 60 of the 80 eligible books.
The first prize is still a year away, to be
conferred in March 2014, with a shortlist--of eight books, rather than the
Booker's six--to be named in February. A panel of five judges will aim to pick
the "best English-language fiction from around the world, published in the
UK."
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