PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award

The PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award is awarded by the PEN America (formerly PEN American Center) to honor a "distinguished biography possessing notable literary merit which has been published in the United States during the previous calendar year."[1] The award carries a $5,000 prize.

The award was established by Rodman L. Drake. Previous judges include Brad Gooch, Benjamin Taylor, and Amanda Vaill.

The award is one of many PEN awards sponsored by International PEN affiliates in over 145 PEN centers around the world. The PEN American Center awards have been characterized as being among the "major" American literary prizes.[2]

Award winners

PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography winners
Year Author Title Result Ref.
2008 Janet Malcolm Two Lives: Gertrude and Alice Winner [3]
2009 Richard Brody Everything Is Cinema: The Working Life of Jean-Luc Godard Winner [4]
Jeffrey Meyers Samuel Johnson: The Struggle Runner-up
Stanley Plumly Posthumous Keats: A Personal Biography Runner-up
2010 Michael Scammell Koestler: The Literary and Political Odyssey of a Twentieth-Century Skeptic Winner [5]
2011 Stacy Schiff Cleopatra: A Life Winner [6]
2012 Robert K. Massie Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman Winner
Janny Scott A Singular Woman: The Untold Story of Barack Obama's Mother Runner-up
2013 Tom Reiss The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo Winner [7]
Gordon Bowker James Joyce: Runner-up
2014 Linda Leavell Holding On Upside Down: The Life and Work of Marianne Moore Winner [8][9]
2015 Anna Whitelock The Queen's Bed: An Intimate History of Elizabeth's Court Winner [10][11]
2016 Nancy Princenthal Agnes Martin: Her Life and Art Winner [12][13]
2017 Joe Jackson Black Elk: The Life of an American Visionary Winner [14]
2018 John A. Farrell Richard Nixon: The Life Winner [15][16][17]
2019 Imani Perry Looking for Lorraine: The Radiant and Radical Life of Lorraine Hansberry Winner
2020 Jacquelyn Dowd Hall Sisters and Rebels: A Struggle for the Soul of America Winner
2021 Amy Stanley Stranger in the Shogun's City: A Japanese Woman and Her World Winner [18]
2022 Rebecca Donner All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days. The True Story of the American Woman at the Heart of the German Resistance to Hitler: Winner [19]
2023 Dan Charnas Dilla Time: The Life and Afterlife of J Dilla, the Hip-Hop Producer Who Reinvented Rhythm Winner [20]
2024 Clare Carlisle The Marriage Question: George Eliot's Double Life Winner [21]

References

  1. ^ PEN American Center Literary Awards Archived 2012-06-11 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Alfred Bendixen (2005). "Literary Prizes and Awards". The Continuum Encyclopedia of American Literature. Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 689. ISBN 978-0-8264-1777-0.
  3. ^ "Our Critic's Tip Sheet on Current Reading: Kingsley Amis Drinks; Bill Bryson Admonishes; and PEN Bestows Prizes". The New York Observer. May 19, 2008. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  4. ^ "Page-Turner: Congratulations". The New Yorker. May 5, 2009. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  5. ^ "Writing Professor Michael Scammell at Cafe Arts Dec. 6". Columbia University. December 2010. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  6. ^ "Jacket Copy: PEN American Center's 2011 award winners". LA Times. August 11, 2011. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  7. ^ Carolyn Kellogg (August 14, 2013). "Jacket Copy: PEN announces winners of its 2013 awards". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  8. ^ Ron Charles (July 30, 2014). "Winners of the 2014 PEN Literary Awards". Washington Post. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  9. ^ "2014 PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography". pen.org. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  10. ^ Carolyn Kellogg (May 13, 2015). "PEN announces award-winners and shortlists". LA Times. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
  11. ^ "2015 PEN Literary Award Winners". pen.org. 11 May 2015. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
  12. ^ Maggie Galehouse (March 1, 2016). "PEN Literary Award winners announced". Chron. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
  13. ^ "2016 PEN Literary Award Winners". PEN. March 1, 2016. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
  14. ^ "2017 PEN America Literary Awards Winners - PEN America". PEN America. 2017-03-27. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
  15. ^ John Maher (February 21, 2018). "Long Soldier, Zhang, Le Guin Win At 2018 PEN Literary Awards". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  16. ^ "The 2018 PEN America Literary Awards Winners". PEN America. February 20, 2018. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  17. ^ Porter Anderson (January 31, 2018). "Industry Notes: PEN America's Finalists". Publishing Perspectives. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  18. ^ Schaub, Michael (April 9, 2021). "PEN America Presents Its Literary Awards Online". Kirkus. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
  19. ^ "PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography". PEN America. 2020-06-09. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
  20. ^ "PEN America Honors Tina Fey, Vinod Kumar Shukla, Erika Dickerson-Despenza, and 11 Authors and Translators at 2023 Literary Awards Hosted by Kal Penn". PEN America. 3 March 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  21. ^ "PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography". PEN America. 4 December 2023. Retrieved 5 December 2024.