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The Mrs. Giles Whiting Foundation recently named ten recipients of the 2001 Whiting
Writers' Awards. The awards, which are each $35,000, have been given annually since 1985
to emerging writers of exceptional talent and promise. Among the past recipients who have
achieved prominence in their field are Jorie Graham, Mona Simpson, David Foster Wallace,
Jonathan Franzen, Mary Karr, Stanley Crouch, Allegra Goodman, Suzan-Lori Parks, Mark Doty,
and Colson Whitehead.
Of the ten recipients there are five fiction writers, two poets, two nonfiction writers,
and a playwright. Their works draw on disparate worlds: that of a remote Montana cattle
ranch, a Midwestern Irish Catholic family, an Austrian village between the World Wars,
Kathmandu, Delhi, the untold lives of Holocaust survivors, urban street life, and modern
love. "These writers are remarkably distinctive in sensibility and subject
matter," said Barbara Bristol, Director of the Writers' Program. "Most of them
have recently published a first book, or soon will, and we hope this award will help to
bring them the recognition they deserve."
The ten writers recognized this year for their outstanding talent and promise are:
Judy Blunt, nonfiction writer. Her memoir, BREAKING CLEAN, will be published in the spring
by Knopf. She is also the author of a volume of poetry, NOT QUITE STONE (University of
Montana, 1992). She lives in Missoula, Montana.
Joel Brouwer, poet. He is the author of two collections of poems, EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED
(Purdue University Press, 1999) and CENTURIES, which will be published by Four Way Books
in 2003. He teaches at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.
Emily Carter, fiction writer. Her short story collection, GLORY GOES AND GETS SOME, was
published by Coffeehouse Press in 2000. She lives in Minneapolis.
Kathleen Finneran, nonfiction writer. Her memoir, THE TENDER LAND: A Family Love Story,
was published by Houghton Mifflin in 2000. She lives in New York City.
Matthew Klam, fiction writer. His first book, SAM THE CAT AND OTHER STORIES, was published
by Random House in 2000. He lives in Washington, D.C.
Brighde Mullins, playwright. Her plays include Monkey in the Middle, Fire Eater,
Topographical Eden, Pathological Venus, and Baby Hades, and have been
produced at theaters around the country. She teaches at San Francisco State University.
Akhil Sharma, fiction writer. His first novel, THE OBEDIENT FATHER, was published by
Farrar, Straus & Giroux in 2000. He lives in New York.
Jason Sommer, poet. He is the author of two collections of poetry, LIFTING THE STONE
(Forest Books, London, 1991) and OTHER PEOPLE'S TROUBLES (University of Chicago Press,
1997). He lives in St. Louis.
Samrat Upadhyay, fiction writer. His first collection of stories, ARRESTING GOD IN KATHMANDU, was published by Houghton
Mifflin this year. Born and raised in Nepal, he now lives and teaches in Ohio.
John Wray, fiction writer. His first novel, THE RIGHT
HAND OF SLEEP, was published last spring by Knopf. He lives in Brooklyn. |
