Aida Edemariam has won the £10,000 (about $12,945) 2019 Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize for The Wife's Tale: A Personal History (4th Estate; published in the U.S. in March by Harper Perennial). The prize is given to "a distinguished work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry, evoking the spirit of a place."
Judge Michèle Roberts called The Wife's Tale "beautifully written, carefully researched and richly imagined, an exquisite blend of memoir, fiction, poetry and invocation. This is a book I shall constantly re-read as well as recommend to everyone i know who loves literature."
---
The Poetry Foundation announced three significant honors:
Marilyn Nelson won the $100,000 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, which annually honors a living U.S. poet for outstanding lifetime achievement.
Naomi Shihab Nye was named the 2019-2021 Young People's Poet Laureate (and received the $25,000 prize), which celebrates a living writer in recognition of their devotion to writing exceptional poetry for young readers. The two-year-term laureateship promotes poetry to children and their families, teachers, and librarians.
Terrance Hayes won the $7,500 Pegasus Award for Poetry Criticism, which honors the best book-length works of criticism published in the prior calendar year, for his book To Float in the Space Between: A Life and Work in Conversation with the Life and Work of Etheridge Knight.
"As part of our mission, and core to Poetry magazine's 106-year history, we celebrate the best poetry, and with these awards we honor some of the writers who bring it into the world today," said Henry Bienen, president of the Poetry Foundation.
---
A range of awards, including the H.R.F. Keating, Petrona, Last Laugh and eDunnit awards, were given over the weekend at Crime Fest, held in Bristol, England. To see the winners and honorees, click here.