Bellwether Prize
Encyclopedia
The Bellwether Prize for Fiction is a biennial award given to a U.S. citizen for a previously unpublished work of fiction that address issues of social justice
. The prize was established by noted author Barbara Kingsolver
, and is funded by her. Winning authors receive a $25,000 award and a publishing contract, from which they receive royalties. Submissions are judged by a panel of authors whose work shows themes of social change.
Winning authors have been:
Authors who have served a judges include: Russell Banks
, Martin Espada
, Terry Karten, Maxine Hong Kingston
, Ursula K. Le Guin
, Barry Lopez
, Toni Morrison
, Ruth Ozeki
, Grace Paley
, and Anna Quindlen
.
In May 2011, PEN American Centre announced it would take over administration of the prize, which will be known as the PEN/Bellwether Prize.
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
. The prize was established by noted author Barbara Kingsolver
Barbara Kingsolver
Barbara Kingsolver is an American novelist, essayist and poet. She was raised in rural Kentucky and lived briefly in the former Republic of Congo in her early childhood. Kingsolver earned degrees in biology at DePauw University and the University of Arizona and worked as a freelance writer before...
, and is funded by her. Winning authors receive a $25,000 award and a publishing contract, from which they receive royalties. Submissions are judged by a panel of authors whose work shows themes of social change.
Winning authors have been:
- 2000: Donna GershtenDonna GershtenDonna Gershten is the author of Kissing the Virgin's Mouth the winner of the inaugural Bellwether Prize for fiction.She was born in North Carolina and lived in Mexico while working as a fitness instructor...
Kissing The Virgin's Mouth - 2002: Gayle BrandeisGayle BrandeisGayle Brandeis is the author of Fruitflesh: Seeds of Inspiration for Women Who Write , Dictionary Poems , the novels The Book of Dead Birds , which won Barbara Kingsolver's Bellwether Prize for Fiction in Support of a Literature of Social Change, Self Storage and Delta Girls , and her first...
The Book of Dead Birds - 2004: Marjorie Kowalski ColeMarjorie Kowalski ColeMarjorie Kowalski Cole was a writer of poetry, short stories and novels. She won the 2004 Bellwether Prize with her first novel Correcting the Landscape.-History:Born in Boston, she lived in Alaska from 1966...
Correcting the Landscape - 2006: Hillary JordanHillary JordanHillary Jordan is the author of two novels: MUDBOUND, published in March 2008, and WHEN SHE WOKE, published in October 2011, both by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill. She received a BA from Wellesley College and an MFA from Columbia University...
Mudbound - 2008: Heidi W. DurrowHeidi W. DurrowHeidi W. Durrow is an American writer, author of The Girl Who Fell From the Sky, and the winner of the 2008 Barbara Kingsolver Bellwether Prize for Literature of Social Change.-Early life and education:...
The Girl Who Fell From the Sky - 2010: Naomi BenaronNaomi BenaronNaomi Benaron is an American author. With her novel Running the Rift she won the 2010 Bellwether Prize for fiction. This is awarded to a first novel which contributed to a literature of social engagement. Her collection of short stories Love Letter from a Fat Man, won the 2006 G.S. Sharat Chandra...
Running the Rift
Authors who have served a judges include: Russell Banks
Russell Banks
Russell Banks is an American writer of fiction and poetry.- Biography :Russell Banks was born in Newton, Massachusetts on March 28, 1940. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He lives in upstate New York, and has been named a New York State Author. He is also...
, Martin Espada
Martín Espada
Martín Espada is a Latino poet, and professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he teaches poetry. Puerto Rico has frequently been featured as a theme in his poems.- Life and career :Espada was born in Brooklyn, New York...
, Terry Karten, Maxine Hong Kingston
Maxine Hong Kingston
Maxine Hong Kingston is a Chinese American author and Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, where she graduated with a BA in English in 1962. Kingston has written three novels and several works of non-fiction about the experiences of Chinese immigrants living in the United...
, Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula Kroeber Le Guin is an American author. She has written novels, poetry, children's books, essays, and short stories, notably in fantasy and science fiction...
, Barry Lopez
Barry Lopez
Barry Holstun Lopez is an American author, essayist, and fiction writer whose work is known for its environmental and social concerns.-Biography:...
, Toni Morrison
Toni Morrison
Toni Morrison is a Nobel Prize and Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist, editor, and professor. Her novels are known for their epic themes, vivid dialogue, and richly detailed characters. Among her best known novels are The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon and Beloved...
, Ruth Ozeki
Ruth Ozeki
Ruth Ozeki is a Canadian-American novelist, filmmaker and Zen Buddhist priest. She worked in commercial television and media production for over a decade and made several independent films before turning to writing fiction.-Life:...
, Grace Paley
Grace Paley
Grace Paley was an American-Jewish short story writer, poet, and political activist.-Biography:Grace Paley was born in the Bronx to Isaac and Manya Ridnyik Goodside, who anglicized the family name from Gutseit on immigrating from Ukraine. Her father was a doctor. The family spoke Russian and...
, and Anna Quindlen
Anna Quindlen
Anna Marie Quindlen is an American author, journalist, and opinion columnist whose New York Times column, Public and Private, won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 1992. She began her journalism career in 1974 as a reporter for the New York Post...
.
In May 2011, PEN American Centre announced it would take over administration of the prize, which will be known as the PEN/Bellwether Prize.