By Dennis Abrams
Neustadt International Prize for Literature awards a silver feather.
World Literature Today, The University of Oklahoma’s award winning magazine of international literature and culture has announced the finalists for the 2016 Neustadt International Prize for Literature.
The Neustadt Prize is described as the most prestigious international literary award given in the United States, and is often called “America’s Nobel” for its reputation as a lead-up to the Swedish Academy’s annual selection. A nine-member international jury of noted writers, selected the shortlist; their sole criterion for nominating finalists being “distinguished and continuing literary achievement.” Any living writer in the world, writing in any genre is eligible for nomination.
This year’s nominees have been selected from around the world, and, for the first time, female authors make up the majority of the finalists.
The finalists for the 2016 Neustadt Prize for International Literature are:
- Can Xue, China
- Caryl Churchill, England
- Carolyn Forche, United States
- Aminatta Forna, Scotland/Sierra Leone
- Ann-Marie MacDonald, Canada
- Guadalupe Nettel, Mexico
- Don Paterson, Scotland
- Dubravka Ugresic, Croatia/The Netherlands
- Ghassan Zaqutan, Palestine
Jury members will convene at the annual Neustadt Festival in October at the University of Oklahoma, where they will discuss the merits of each finalist and vote for the winner. The 2016 laureate, who will be announced at the festival’s closing banquet, will receive $50,000,, a replica of an eagle feather cast in silver, a certificate of recognition and the next year’s Neustadt Festival hosted in his or her honor.