Edwidge Danticat '90 Nominated for Story Prize
Author Edwidge Danticat, a Barnard alumna, has been nominated for the inaugural Story Prize for her acclaimed book, The Dew Breaker , which weaves together stories about Haitians and Haitian-Americans whose lives have been affected by a barber with a secret past. Danticat, one of three nominees, has won critical praise for the book from The New York Times and The Washngton Post , among other publications.
The Story Prize carries a $20,000 award underwritten by the Mississippi-based Chisholm Foundation.
The Washington Post said the book " awakens us to the beauty and terror that can exist in everyday life in Haiti. The Dew Breaker is a brilliant book, undoubtedly the best one yet by an enormously talented writer." And the New York Times remarked that her writing was "breathtaking . . . with terrifying wit and flowered pungency."
The other nominees for the prize are Cathy Day for The Circus in Winter and Joan Silber for Ideas of Heaven . Readings from the books and the announcement of the winner will take place on January 26 at Symphony Space in Manhattan.
The Dew Breaker has also recently been optioned by HBO Films. Fellow alumna Miranda Thompson '92, who is the director of development and production for HBO Films, is working to develop the book into a film.
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