Bard Professor Francine Prose Wins 2008 Edith Wharton Achievement Award For Literature

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.—Francine Prose, novelist, critic, short story writer, and Bard College Distinguished Writer in Residence, has been honored with the 2008 Edith Wharton Achievement Award for Literature in recognition of her career as one of our nation’s most distinguished literary voices. This prestigious award for literature has only been given twice before, to Eudora Welty and Alice Munro. Past recipients of achievement awards in other categories include Brooke Astor, Lady Bird Johnson, Louis Auchincloss, and Martin Scorsese. The Edith Wharton Achievement Awards were inaugurated in 1996 to recognize women and men whose accomplishments mirror those of Edith Wharton. The award will be presented at a formal dinner in New York City scheduled for April 2008.

“Like Wharton, [Prose is] a model of artistic accomplishment. [Her] novels, diverse in theme and brilliant in technique, are an inspiring addition to American letters,” says Stephanie Copeland, president and CEO of The Mount. “The purpose of the evening is to underline the importance of restoring The Mount, the historic house and gardens Edith Wharton created in Lenox, Massachusetts, which is her only American monument. By accepting this award, [Prose] will help bring attention to the restoration of The Mount, one of the very few National Historic Landmarks dedicated to women.”

Francine Prose is the author of the New York Times bestseller Reading Like a Writer, as well as 14 books of fiction, including A Changed Man, winner of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, and Blue Angel, a finalist for the National Book Award. An acclaimed critic and essayist, she has taught literature and writing for more than 20 years at major universities. A former Director’s Fellow at the Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library, she is the recipient of many grants and awards, including Guggenheim and Fulbright fellowships, and is currently the elected president of the PEN American Center. She lives in New York City.

This event was last updated on 09-15-2008

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