Judges Include Pulitzer Prize Recipients, National Book Award Winners, New York Times Best-Selling Authors
Brooklyn, NY: The search for the defining Brooklyn literary works of the past year continued today with the announcement of the judges for the inaugural Brooklyn Eagles Literary Prize. The panel includes accomplished writers who have contributed greatly to the borough’s literary community and culture.
“Brooklyn Public Library is honored that a dozen of America’s finest writers will help us recognize works of fiction and nonfiction that contribute much to our understanding of contemporary and historical Brooklyn,” said BPL President & CEO Linda E. Johnson.
The prize was created by the Brooklyn Eagles, a community of young professionals who volunteer their time and raise funds for the Library, to celebrate Brooklyn's literary culture with input from the people and institutions essential to its vibrancy: bookstores, librarians and artists. BPL staff selected three fiction and three nonfiction works from a longlist of nominees submitted by borough bookstores and library professionals. The shortlisted books are the work of authors who have lived in Brooklyn, portrayed the borough in prose or addressed themes relevant to its life and culture.
“The authors nominated for the inaugural Brooklyn Eagles Literary Prize have written some of the most original and compelling writing published in America in the past year,” said 2014 National Book Award winner Phil Klay, a judge on the fiction panel. “And the prize doesn't simply celebrate their accomplishments, it also celebrates the borough that has nurtured so many of America’s greatest writers and artists.”
The judges’ selections will be announced on October 23 at the Fall Classic, the Brooklyn Eagles’ premier annual fundraising event. Each winner will be awarded a $2,500 cash prize.
Judging the inaugural Brooklyn Eagle Literary Prize are:
Nonfiction
Philip Gourevitch, a longtime staff writer for The New Yorker whose books include The Ballad of Abu Ghraib (2008) and the National Book Critics Circle Award-winning We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families (1998).
Leslie Jamison, author of the widely-acclaimed New York Times-bestselling essay collection The Empathy Exams (2014).
Larissa MacFarquhar, staff writer for The New Yorker and author of Strangers Drowning: Grappling with Impossible Idealism, Drastic Choices, and the Overpowering Urge to Help (2015).
Jonathan Mahler, writer for The New York Times Magazine and author of Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx Is Burning (2005) and The Challenge: How a Maverick Navy Officer and a Young Law Professor Risked Their Careers to Defend the Constitution—and Won (2009).
Wesley Morris, whose work for The Boston Globe earned him the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 2011.
Jennifer Senior, New York Magazine contributing editor and author of All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood (2014), whose work has been recognized with awards from the Newswomen's Club of New York and the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.
Fiction
Joshua Cohen, author and essayist whose most recent novel, 2015's Book of Numbers, is an “epic of the digital age.”
Junot Díaz, award-winning author most recently of This Is How You Lose Her, a finalist for the 2012 National Book Award.
Heidi Julavits, a founding editor of The Believer magazine and the author of four acclaimed novels and The Folded Clock: A Diary (2015).
Philip Klay, whose debut short story collection, Redeployment (2014), won the National Book Award.
Téa Obreht, author of the acclaimed 2011 novel The Tiger's Wife and contributor to The New Yorker, Zoetrope: All-Story, Harpers, The New York Times and The Guardian.
Jacqueline Woodson, whose works for children and adolescents have earned the Coretta Scott King Award, the Newbery Honor, the National Book Award and many other accolades.
The Brooklyn Eagles Literary Prize is supported by the Peck Stacpoole Foundation, which is funding the prizes that will be awarded to the winners.
About Brooklyn Public Library
Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) is an independent library system for the 2.5 million residents of Brooklyn. It is the fifth largest library system in the United States with 60 neighborhood libraries located throughout the borough. BPL offers free programs and services for all ages and stages of life, including a large selection of books in more than 30 languages, author talks, literacy programs and public computers. BPL’s eResources, such as eBooks and eVideos, catalog information and free homework help, are available to customers of all ages 24 hours a day at our website: www.bklynlibrary.org.
About the Brooklyn Eagles
The Brooklyn Eagles are a community of engaged young Brooklyn Public Library supporters whose mission is to connect with new patrons, promote BPL as a cultural center and build a vibrant community around the Library. The Eagles support BPL by fundraising, advocating and raising awareness for Library programs and resources. Since 2013, the Eagles have volunteered their time and engaged hundreds of young professionals through their service projects, happy hours and the annual Brooklyn Classic fundraiser.
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