SAROYAN AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED
By Allen Pierleoni – [email protected]
Sacbee
Monday, September 22, 2008
Saroyan nonfiction prize for Folsom writer
Stanford University Libraries and the William Saroyan Foundation
announced the winners of the William Saroyan International Prize for
Writing. The winner in the fiction category is Nicole Krauss for "The
History of Love" (W.W. Norton, $13.95, 272 pages); for nonfiction,
it’s Kiyo Sato for "Dandelion Through the Crack" (Willow Valley,
$29.95, 416 pages). Each author will receive $12,500 in prize money.
Sato lives in Folsom.
"History" is an intricate story told over 60 years, featuring two
unusual characters whose lives are interwoven in myriad ways. Twists
and turns abound.
"Dandelion" follows the travails and triumphs of one Japanese family,
the Satos, through several generations.
The program was established to "encourage new and emerging writers,
and to honor the Saroyan literary legacy of originality, vitality and
stylistic innovation." Saroyan (1908-1981) was an Armenian American
novelist and playwright who was born in Fresno.
Finalists in the competition for fiction were Pamela Erens for "The
Understory" and Richard Lange for "Dead Boys." Finalists for nonfiction
were John Moir for "Return of the Condor" and Adam David Miller for
"Ticket to Exile."