April 14, 2010--Graywolf Press is pleased to announce that National Book Award finalist Salvatore Scibona, author The End, has been named a 2010 Guggenheim Fellow. Edward Hirsch, the president of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, announced today that in its eighty-sixth annual competition for the United States and Canada the Foundation has awarded 180 Fellowships to artists, scientists, and scholars. The successful candidates were chosen from a group of some 3,000 applicants.
Guggenheim Fellows are appointed on the basis of achievement and exceptional promise. One of the hallmarks of the Guggenheim Fellowship program is the diversity of its Fellows.
March 30, 2010—The
Grey Album: Music, Lying, & the Blackness of Being by Kevin Young has
been chosen as the newest winner of the Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize. Young
will receive a $12,000 advance, and Graywolf will publish the collection of
essaysin Spring 2012.
The Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize is designed to honor
and encourage the art of literary nonfiction, and is given to an outstanding
manuscript by an emerging author who has published no more than two previous
books of nonfiction. Last year’s winner, Notes
from No Man’s Land: American Essays by Eula Biss, was recently awarded the
prestigious National Book Critics Circle Award.
Robert
Polito, esteemed author and Director of the Graduate Writing
Program at the New School in New York, served as the outside judge for the
contest.
“This is a narrative of surprises—a book of
secrets, too, though many of those secrets, as we discover, are cunningly
hidden in plain sight (or in plain speech),” said Polito. “The Grey Album investigates, even as it also performs, an American
covert history—the stories behind any official or familiar story—as well as
some emblematic escapes from and into American history. Veering across many
vernaculars, from literature into music, theory into autobiography, Kevin Young
writes cultural criticism of the most audacious, skillful, and ultimately
touching sort.”
Kevin
Young, who was a National Book Award finalist for his poetry
collection Jelly Roll, was thrilled
to win the Prize. “Words can’t describe how elated I was upon hearing that I
had won the Graywolf Nonfiction Prize for The
Grey Album, the mash-up of music, literature, and lying I have been working
on for more years than I care to admit. I’m all the more excited to appear on
such a distinguished list, and hope to do the prize—and my subject—justice.” Read more...
Eula Biss Wins Prestigious National Book Critics Circle Award
March 12, 2010--Graywolf Press is pleased to announce that
Notes from No Man's Land: American Essays by Eula Biss has been selected as the
winner of the 2010 National Book Critics Circle Award for criticism. The
winners were announced last night during a ceremony at the New School's Tishman
Auditorium.
Jeffrey Shotts, senior editor at Graywolf Press, was
thrilled with the news. "The NBCC Awards are one of the majors," he
said. "It's gratifying to have an award come out of such a large and
distinguished body of critics and writers and serious people about the art and
craft of literature. We couldn't
be prouder of Eula Biss."
Notes from No Man's Land: American
Essays was named a best book of the year by Time Out Chicago and a School
Library Journal Best Adult Book for High School Students. Biss's spare,
sometimes lyric essays explore the legacy of race in America, artfully revealing
in intimate detail how families, schools, and neighborhoods participate in
preserving racial privilege. National Public Radio called the collection
"forceful, beautiful essays," and the Chicago Tribune said "Biss
is telling us the story of our country--one we never saw coming." The book
won the Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize. Read more...
D. A. Powell wins $100,000 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award
February 4, 2010—Graywolf Press is delighted to announce that
D. A. Powell has won the $100,000 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award for his
latest collection, Chronic. The
prestigious award, founded in 1992, is given annually by Claremont Graduate
University to honor work by a midcareer poet. The awards will be presented on
Thursday, April 22, at the Pasadena Museum of California Art.
The
panel of final judges for the 2010 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Awards were Ted
Genoways, Linda Gregerson, Paul Muldoon, Carl Phillips, and Charles Harper
Webb.
Graywolf Press senior editor Jeffrey Shotts was thrilled with
the news. “D. A. Powell is one of the major poets of our time, and it’s
wonderful to have the Kingsley Tufts Award recognize that,” he said. “Considering
that Powell was selected by such a diverse committee of esteemed poets, that
makes it all the sweeter. And, of course, six figures doesn’t hurt either.”
Graywolf poet Matthea Harvey won the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award
last year for her collection Modern Life.
Read more...
Graywolf receives three National Book Critics Circle Award nominations
January 25, 2010--On Saturday, January 23, 2010, the National Book Critics Circle
announced the finalists for its book awards for the publishing year
2009 at Housing Works Bookstore Cafe in New York. Graywolf Press is thrilled to inform you that they received three nominations: Chronic by D. A. Powell in the poetry category, and Close Calls with Nonsense: Reading New Poetry by Stephen Burt and Notes from No Man's Land: American Essaysby Eula Biss, both in the criticism category.
The NBCC consists of some 600 book reviewers and was founded in
1974. The awards will be given out on Thursday, March 11, at the New
School in New York. For a complete list of finalists in all six categories, please visit the NBCC website.
Last year Graywolf had two finalists in the poetry category, Modern Life by Matthea Harvey and Elegy by Mary Jo Bang, which went on to win the award.
A note about holiday orders
Due to reduced office hours over the holiday season, orders placed after December 18, 2009 will not be filled until January 4, 2010. Thank you for your patience.
Happy holidays from us all of us at Graywolf Press!
Gary Jackson wins 2009 Cave Canem Poetry Prize
nEW yORK, ny (September 3,
2009) — Graywolf Press and Cave Canem Foundation,
Inc., North America’s premier “home for black poetry,” are pleased to announce
that Gary Jackson has received the 2009 Cave Canem Poetry Prize for his
manuscript, Missing you, Metropolis, selected by Yusef
Komunyakaa. Graywolf Press will publish the collection in fall 2010. Additionally,
Mr. Jackson will receive $1,000 and a feature reading.
Yusef Komunyakaa writes, “Gary Jackson's Missing you, Metropolis embodies and underscores a voice uniquely
shaped and tuned for the 21st century. Playful, jaunty and highly serious…the collection is gauged by a
sophisticated heart. Pathos
breathes within and slightly underneath the visual comedy, and this quality is
the true genius of Missing you,
Metropolis.”
After many wonderful years in the great city of St. Paul, Graywolf Press is moving to the warehouse district of Minneapolis. Effective September 8, 2009, we can be reached at the following address:
Graywolf Press
250 Third Avenue North, Suite 600
Minneapolis, MN 55401
Due to the move, we are not accepting manuscript submissions during the month of September. Please read our submission guidelines for more information.
Jeffrey Yang wins the PEN/Osterweil Award for Poetry
May 4, 2009—Graywolf Press is pleased to announce that Jeffrey Yang's debut collection, An Aquarium, has won the 2009 PEN/Osterweil Award for Poetry. Kwame Anthony Appiah,
president of PEN American Center, the national association of literary
writers, and Elissa Schappell, chair of PEN’s Literary Awards
Committee, made the announcement at a ceremony in New York City.
The PEN/Osterweil Award for Poetry is a $5,000 award that recognizes the high literary character of the
published work to date of a new and emerging American poet of any age
and the promise of further literary achievement. Poets are nominated by
PEN members and may not have published more than one book of poetry.
The award is made possible through a grant from The Kaplen Foundation.
This year’s jurors were Chris Abani, Linda Gregg, and Matthew Zapruder.
All recipients of the recipients of the 2009 PEN Literary Awards, the
most comprehensive literary awards program in the United States, will
be honored at a ceremony hosted by Billy Collins, and will take place
at Elebash Recital Hall at The Graduate Center, CUNY, on May 19, 2009.
For a complete list of winners of the 2009 PEN Literary Awards, please visit the PEN American Center website.
Linda Gregg wins $50,000 Jackson Poetry Prize
April 22, 2009--Graywolf Press is pleased to announce that Linda Gregg is the recipient of the third annual Jackson Poetry Prize of Poets & Writers, Inc. The $50,000 prize honors an American poet of exceptional talent who has
published at least one book of recognized literary merit but has not
yet received major national acclaim. The award is designed to provide
what all poets need--time and the encouragement to write.
Ms. Gregg was selected by three esteemed judges: the poets Brenda
Hillman, Edward Hirsch, and Charles Simic. There was no application
process. Poets were nominated by a panel of their peers who will remain
anonymous.
The judges described Ms. Gregg’s poems as “charting human emotion at
its most risky, leading the reader at times into a metaphysical or
mystical utterance, and at times into a plain-spoken observation of a
human world. Her poems are wise and beautiful.”
Fanny Howe awarded the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize for lifetime achievement
April 14, 2009, Chicago—Graywolf Press is delighted to announce that Fanny Howe has been awarded the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize for lifetime achievement. The Poetry Foundation announced the annual award of $100,000 today, and it will be presented to Howe at the Pegasus Awards ceremony at the Arts Club of Chicago on Tuesday, May 19.
In announcing the Lilly Prize, Christian Wiman, editor of Poetry magazine, said, “Fanny Howe is a religious writer whose work makes you more alert and alive to the earth, an experimental writer who can break your heart. Live in her world for a while, and it can change the way you think of yours.”
Established in 1986 and presented annually by the Poetry Foundation to
a living U.S. poet whose lifetime accomplishments warrant extraordinary
recognition, the Ruth Lilly Prize is one of the most prestigious awards
given to American poets, and at $100,000 it is one of the nation’s
largest literary prizes.
Salvatore Scibona's THE END named an Ohioana Book Award finalist
March 30, 2009—Graywolf Press is pleased to announce that The End by Salvatore Scibona has been named a finalist for the Ohioana Book Award of the Ohioana Library. “Ohio authors are amazing! The variety, and depth of topics and characters included in this year’s array of book award finalists represent the finest in the literature of our time. We are a proud to recognize the authors from all areas of our state who have published outstanding books this year.” said Linda Hengst, executive director of the Ohioana Library. “We receive 700 to 900 books a year all of which become eligible for the book awards, so the authors of the books selected as finalists should feel truly honored.”
The book awards are given in five categories: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, juvenile literature, and “about Ohio/Ohioans.” Many of the book award finalists will be at the 3rd annual Ohioana Book Festival on May 9th. Ohioana will announce the winners in each category near the end of August, and recipients will be honored at the annual Ohioana Day Awards Ceremony and Luncheon on Saturday, October 17, 2009.
Other finalists in the fiction category include Brock Clarke (An Arsonist’s Guide to Writers’ Homes in New England), P.F. Kluge (Gone Tomorrow), Erin McGraw (The Seamstress of Hollywood Boulevard), Toni Morrison (A Mercy), and Curtis Sittenfelt (American Wife).
A complete list of finalists in all book categories can be found at the Ohiona Library's website.
Linda Gregg wins the William Carlos Williams Award
March 25, 2009--Graywolf Press is pleased to announce that All of It Singing: New and Selected Poems by Linda Gregg has won the Poetry Society of America's William Carlos Williams Award.
James Longenbach, this year’s judge, writes of the winning poet:
"Linda Gregg is a visionary poet. The fact that this is not immediately apparent constitutes the power of these extraordinary poems, poems that have been accumulating with a quiet, slow-burning majesty for nearly four decades. What strikes us first is the simplicity of means, the doggedly monosyllabic diction and the baldly declarative syntax. The means say: you may trust me, or, I will not lie to you. Then we feel the vivid inhabitation of lived experience, a human being speaking to other human beings about landscapes that, however exotic, we recognize immediately."
Salvatore Scibona's THE END wins the Young Lions Fiction Award
March 17, 2009--Graywolf Press is happy to announce that Salvatore Scibona has won the New York Public Library's Young Lions Fiction Award for his debut novel, The End. The award, now in its ninth year, was presented at a ceremony last evening by Library President Paul LeClerc. The ceremony was held in the Celeste Bartos Forum of the landmark
Humanities and Social Sciences Library.
Ethan Hawke, one of the
founders of the award, was joined onstage by actors Billy Crudup, and
Zoe Kazan to read excerpts from each of the finalists’ works. The four
other finalists for the award were Jon Fasman (The Unpossessed
City), Rivka Galchen (Atmospheric Disturbances), Sana Krasikov (One More Year), and Zachary Mason (The Lost Books of the Odyssey).
“In the nine years since its founding the Young Lions Fiction Award has
called attention to nominated works by forty-six talented authors,”
said Library President Paul LeClerc. “It is indeed a privilege to
celebrate and support young writers who are forming the future
landscape of American cultural expression.”
Salvatore Scibona's THE END Named a Finalist for the 2009 Young Lions Fiction Award
February 18, 2009--Graywolf Press is delighted to announce that The End by Salvatore Scibona has been selected as one of five finalists for the New York Public Library's 2009 Young Lions Fiction Award. The award honors the works of authors age 35 and under who are making
an indelible impression on the world of literature. The winning writer
will be awarded a $10,000 prize on March 16, 2009 at a ceremony hosted
by Young Lions co-founder and actor Ethan Hawke, held in the Celeste
Bartos Forum of the Humanities and Social Sciences at Fifth Avenue and
42nd Street. Each finalist will receive $1,000. The End is Scibona's first novel and was a finalist for the National Book Award. Read more...
Graywolf Press events at the 2009 AWP Conference and Bookfair
February 11, 2009--Graywolf Press will be in Chicago from February 11-14 for the annual Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) Conference and Bookfair. All readings and events will be held in the Hilton Chicago. Please visit us at booth #124 in the Northwest Hall, or join us at any of the following events:
Thursday, February 12, 1:30-2:45 PM Continental C, Lobby Level Another World Instead: Readings from the Early Poems of William Stafford, 1937-1947 Featuring Fred Marchant, Linda Pastan, Kim Stafford, Jennifer Barber, Kevin Bowen, and Mary Szybist
Thursday, February 12, 3:00-4:15 PM Grand Ballroom, Second Floor A Tribute to Albert Goldbarth
Featuring Rick Mulkey, Stephen Corey, Denise Duhamel, Barbara Hamby, Lia Purpura, and Graywolf Press Senior Editor Jeffrey Shotts
Friday, February 13, 1:30-2:45 PM International Ballroom South, Second Floor Graywolf Press 35th Anniversary Reading
Featuring Jeffrey Shotts, Jeffery Renard Allen, Eula Biss, Robert Boswell, Katie Ford, and D. A. Powell
Friday, February 13, 4:30-5:45 PM Boulevard Room A, B, C, Second Floor A Tribute to a Stranger: Thomas James
Featuring Mark Doty, Rigoberto Gonzalez, Tracy K. Smith, and Mark Wunderlich
Saturday, February 14, 4:30-5:45 PM Wiliford C, Third Floor A Tribute to Jason Shinder
Featuring Tony Hoagland, Marie Howe, Sophie Cabot Black, Victoria Redel, Tree Swenson, and Elise Paschen
For more details about these events and for a complete conference schedule, please visit the AWP website.
Matthea Harvey wins the $100,000 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award
February 6, 2009--Graywolf Press is pleased to announce that Matthea Harvey has won the $100,000 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award from Claremont Graduate University. The prize, established in 1992 to honor work by a mid-career poet, was given for her book Modern Life, which was a finalist for the 2008 National Book Critics Circle Award.
* THE CHAPBOOK IS NOW AVAILABLE! ORDER YOURS TODAY.*
January 20, 2009--Poet Elizabeth Alexander captured the spirit of Barack Obama's historic inauguration today when she read the poem "Praise Song for the Day." Barack Obama is the forty-fourth president of the United States of America. Graywolf Press will release a commemorative chapbook edition of the poem on February 6, 2009.
Elizabeth Alexander crafted the poem for the occasion, drawing inspiration from poets such as Gwendolyn Brooks, Robert Hayden, and Walt Whitman. Alexander is one of our nation's most eloquent poets, and she spoke at the most closely watched inauguration in U.S. history. Alexander is the fourth poet in United States history to read at a presidential inauguration. Previous inaugural poets were Robert Frost at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy, and Maya Angelou and Miller Williams at the inaugurations of William Jefferson Clinton.
December 11, 2008—Graywolf Press and Cave Canem Foundation, North America’s premier home for black poetry, are pleased to announce Cave Canem's 2009 competition for the Cave Canem Poetry Prize, an annual first book award dedicated to the discovery of exceptional manuscripts by African American poets. Pulitzer Prize winning poet Yusef Komunyakaa will serve as final judge. In addition to publication by Graywolf Press in 2010, the competition winner will receive $1,000, 15 copies of the book and a feature reading.
Lawrence Venuti Awarded the 2008 Robert Fagles Translation Prize
The National Poetry Series is pleased to announce that Lawrence Venuti has been awarded the 2008 Robert Fagles Translation Prize. Mr. Venuti’s project, Edward Hopper, is a translation of Catalan poet Ernest Farrés, and will be published in 2009 by Graywolf Press. Acclaimed poet Richard Howard served as judge for this year’s award.
Kevin
Young, who was a National Book Award finalist for his poetry
collection Jelly Roll, was thrilled
to win the Prize. “Words can’t describe how elated I was upon hearing that I
had won the Graywolf Nonfiction Prize for The
Grey Album, the mash-up of music, literature, and lying I have been working
on for more years than I care to admit. I’m all the more excited to appear on
such a distinguished list, and hope to do the prize—and my subject—justice.” 
collection, 
recipient of the third annual Jackson Poetry Prize of Poets & Writers, Inc. The $50,000 prize honors an American poet of exceptional talent who has
published at least one book of recognized literary merit but has not
yet received major national acclaim. The award is designed to provide
what all poets need--time and the encouragement to write. 
Fanny Howe has been awarded the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize for lifetime achievement. The Poetry Foundation announced the annual award of $100,000 today, and it will be presented to Howe at the Pegasus Awards ceremony at the Arts Club of Chicago on Tuesday, May 19.
Salvatore Scibona has been named a finalist for the Ohioana Book Award of the Ohioana Library. “Ohio authors are amazing! The variety, and depth of topics and characters included in this year’s array of book award finalists represent the finest in the literature of our time. We are a proud to recognize the authors from all areas of our state who have published outstanding books this year.” said Linda Hengst, executive director of the Ohioana Library. “We receive 700 to 900 books a year all of which become eligible for the book awards, so the authors of the books selected as finalists should feel truly honored.”
New and Selected Poems
has won the New York Public Library's Young Lions Fiction Award for his debut novel, The End. The award, now in its ninth year, was presented at a ceremony last evening by Library President Paul LeClerc. The ceremony was held in the Celeste Bartos Forum of the landmark
Humanities and Social Sciences Library. 
February 11, 2009--Graywolf Press will be in Chicago from February 11-14 for the annual Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) Conference and Bookfair. All readings and events will be held in the Hilton Chicago. Please visit us at booth #124 in the Northwest Hall, or join us at any of the following events:
Friday, February 13, 1:30-2:45 PM
February 6, 2009--Graywolf Press is pleased to announce that Matthea Harvey has won the $100,000 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award from Claremont Graduate University. The prize, established in 1992 to honor work by a mid-career poet, was given for her book 
January 20, 2009--Poet Elizabeth Alexander captured the spirit of Barack Obama's historic inauguration today when she read the poem "Praise Song for the Day." Barack Obama is the forty-fourth president of the United States of America. Graywolf Press will release a 