Bard Fiction Prize Winner Laura Van Den Berg To Give Reading On February 23

Author Laura van den Berg, writer in residence at Bard College, reads from her recent work on Monday, February 23. The free program begins at 7 p.m. in the László Z. Bitó ’60 Auditorium in Bard’s Reem-Kayden Center. Van den Berg received the 2015 Bard Fiction Prize for her book The Isle of Youth (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2013). In this collection of stories, van den Berg explores the lives of women mired in secrecy and deception. The characters are at once vulnerable and dangerous, bighearted and ruthless—grappling with the choices they have made and searching for the clues to unlock their inner worlds.

The Bard Fiction Prize committee writes: “Laura van den Berg’s stories are at once subtle and in extremis, as if the author were able to pressure-cook scenarios in which strangeness becomes uncomfortably familiar, and the seemingly ‘normal’ is unveiled as being, well, not so terribly normal. Her technical skills are beyond abundant and yet so complex as to be nearly erased during the act of reading. This is a writer of the first order, someone who pushes aside any notion of trendiness; a writer who has emerged on the literary scene full voiced, and ready to knock down some walls. We embrace her project and her future.”

Laura van den Berg is the author of the story collections What the World Will Look Like When All the Water Leaves Us, a Barnes & Noble “Discover Great New Writers” selection, and The Isle of Youth, which won the Rosenthal Family Foundation Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and was named a “Best Book of 2013” by more than a dozen venues and publications, including NPR, the Boston Globe, and O, The Oprah Magazine. Both collections were shortlisted for the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award. The recipient of an O. Henry Award and a Pushcart Prize, van den Berg’s work has been anthologized in The Best American Short Stories, The Best American Mystery Stories, and The Best American Nonrequired Reading. Van den Berg’s first novel, Find Me, will be published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in 2015. A native of Florida, she lives in the Boston area. For more information about the reading, call 845-758-7087.

ABOUT THE BARD FICTION PRIZE
The Bard Fiction Prize is awarded to a promising, emerging writer who is an American citizen aged 39 years or younger at the time of application. In addition to the monetary award, the winner receives an appointment as writer in residence at Bard College for one semester, without the expectation that he or she teach traditional courses. The recipient gives at least one public lecture and meets informally with students. To apply, candidates should write a cover letter explaining the project they plan to work on while at Bard and submit a C.V., along with three copies of the published book they feel best represents their work. No manuscripts will be accepted. Applications for the 2016 prize must be received by June 15, 2015. For information about the Bard Fiction Prize, call 845-758-7087, send an e-mail to bfp@bard.edu, or visit www.bard.edu/bfp. Applicants may also request information by writing to the Bard Fiction Prize, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY 12504-5000.
 

TO DOWNLOAD a high-resolution photo, go to: www.bard.edu/news/pressphotos/.
CAPTION INFO: Author Laura van den Berg, writer in residence at Bard College, reads from her recent work on Monday, February 23.
PHOTO CREDIT: Paul Yoon

Website: https://www.bard.edu/bfp

This event was last updated on 02-04-2015

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