Edith Pearlman takes the NBCC fiction prize
(Read article summary)Other National Book Critics Circle honorees include writer John Lewis Gaddis for 'George F. Kennan: An American Life' and Maya Jasanoff for 'Liberty's Exiles.'
Author Edith Pearlman won the 2011 Fiction prize at the National Book Critics Circle Awards, which were given out Thursday night.
Pearlman was awarded the prize for her short story collection “Binocular Vision,” the publication of which the NBCC called “a triumph for Pearlman’s distinctive storytelling, bringing it to a larger audience." Monitor fiction critic Yvonne Zipp found "Binocular Vision" to be "among the best [short story collections] I've ever read."
Pearlman’s work was the first book released by her publisher, Lookout Books.
“Little presses and little magazines are dedicated to keeping literature alive,” Pearlman said during her acceptance speech. “And they deserve thanks from every writer tonight, particularly from me.”
The nonfiction prize went to “Liberty’s Exiles,” a book examining the lives of Loyalists in America after the Revolutionary War, by Maya Jasanoff. Writer Mira Bartok took the autobiography award for her book “The Memory Palace,” saying, “I guess more than 10 people read the book. I think that's kind of cool,” during her acceptance speech.
