252. Windham-Campbell Prize announced

The eagerly awaited Windham-Campbell Prize has been announced. The eight recipients will each receive $175,000 for their lifetime achievements. The award recognizes writers in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama.

Out of the eight, I have only read British novelist Gwendoline Riley’s First Love and Joyelle McSweeney's collections of poetry, The Red Bird, which won the Fence Modern Poetry Series. I have heard of the other two authors, but I’m learning about the others for the first time.

The list includes: Fiction - British novelist Gwendoline Riley, and American writer Adam Ehrlich Sachs. Poetry - Canadian poet Karen Solie and American poet Joyelle McSweeney. Nonfiction work - Jamaican essayist Kei Miller and Belgian-born American writer Lucy Sante. Drama - American playwright Christina Anderson and Australian playwright S. Shakthidharan, 

The award is given to writers so they can concentrate on their craft without financial worries. 

The financial security from the grant provides writers with the time, space, and creative freedom to think, write, and develop their talent. Past award recipients include Teju Cole, Pankaj Mishra, Olivia Laing, Anne Enright, Tessa Hadley, Edmund de Waal, Hanif Abdurraqib, and Percival Everett.

British novelist Gwendoline Riley, renowned for her novel First Love, is acclaimed for her short novels that delve into fractured relationships, family tensions, and the inner lives of women. 

American poet Joyelle McSweeney is known for work that explores nature, trauma, and resilience. Canadian poet Karen Solie examines desire, loss, and environmental damage.

Shakthidharan was chosen in recognition of his multigenerational epic Counting and Cracking, which is inspired by his family story and traces the history of 20th-century Sri Lanka. 

American writer Adam Ehrlich Sachs is the author of three books: Gretel and the Great War, The Organs of Sense, and Inherited Disorders.

Belgian-born American writer Lucy Sante was awarded for her memoir, I Heard Her Call My Name: A Memoir of Transition, which follows her process of coming out and transitioning late in life. Kei Miller is awarded for the essay collection Things I Have Withheld. 

Looking forward to reading some of these.