PEN American Center, the largest branch of the worldís oldest literary and human rights organization, has announced the winners of the 2011 PEN Awards. Next year will mark PENís 90th anniversary.
This year, PEN will present 17 awards, fellowships, grants, and prizes. Below is a partial list of winners.
Award winners and runners up will be honored at the 2011 PEN Literary Awards Ceremony on Oct. 12, at CUNY Graduate Centerís Proshansky Auditorium in New York City.
PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize ($25,000): To a fiction writer whose debut work, published in 2010, represents distinguished literary achievement and suggests great promise ó Susanna Daniel, ěStiltsvilleî and Danielle Evans, ěBefore You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self.î
PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award ($10,000): For a book of literary nonfiction on the subject of the physical and biological sciences published in 2010. Award presented for the first time in 2011 ó Siddhartha Mukherjee, ěThe Emperor of All Maladies.î
PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award for Nonfiction ($10,000): A biennial award for a distinguished book of general nonfiction possessing notable literary merit and critical perspective published in 2009 or 2010 ó Robert Perkinson, ěTexas Tough: The Rise of Americaís Prison Empire.î
PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay ($5,000): For a book of essays published in 2010 that exemplifies the dignity and esteem of the essay form. Award revived after a five-year hiatus. ó Mark Slouka, ěEssays from the Nick of Time: Reflections and Refutations.î
PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing ($5,000): For a nonfiction book on the subject of sports published in 2010 ó George Dohrmann, ěPlay Their Hearts Out.î
PEN/ESPN Lifetime Achievement Award for Literary Sports Writing ($5,000): To a writer whose body of work represents an exceptional contribution to the field. Award presented for the first time in 2011 ó Roger Angell.
PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography ($5,000): For a distinguished biography published in 2010 ó Stacy Schiff, ěCleopatra: A Life.î
PEN Open Book Award ($5,000): For an exceptional work of literature by an author of color published in 2010. ó Manu Joseph, ěSerious Men.î
PEN/Phyllis Naylor WorkingWriter Fellowship ($5,000): To an author of childrenís or young-adult fiction, who has published at least two books, and for whom monetary support is particularly needed to complete a book-length work-in-progress ó Lucy Frank, ěTwo Girls Staring at the Ceiling,î a novel in verse.