And the Award Goes To…Socially Engaged Fiction
Are you writing a novel about "the world as it is with an eye for how it could be”? If so, Barbara Kingsolver may have a prize for you. Check out the submission guidelines for the PEN/Bellwether Prize (and join the conversation below for a chance at a free book.)
Kingsolver launched the PEN/Bellwether Prize in 2000 to promote “fiction that addresses issues of social justice and the impact of culture and politics on human relationships.” The biennial prize is awarded for a first novel. The winner receives $25,000 and a contract with Algonquin Press.
Last month, in a ceremony at BookExpo America, the annual trade fair, Kingsolver bestowed the 2012 award on Susan Nussbaum for her novel, “Good Kings Bad Kings.”
Nussbaum, a Chicago-based disability rights activist and playwright, described her book as “a comedy about disabled teens being abused in a really repressive institution.” While living in a nursing home for juveniles with disabilities, the teens form friendships, fall in love, and band together to fight back against mistreatment.
Her aim, Nussbaum said, was to create “authentically realized disabled characters who are not symbolic of anything.” Rather than serving as vehicles for the education of non-disabled protagonists, as disabled characters do in many a work of fiction, she wanted them to be simply themselves.
By all accounts, she succeeded. The book “stopped me in my tracks,” Kingsolver told the crowd at BookExpo America. “Its characters are so real, so belligerent, so endearing.”
Speaking over the roar of literary wares being hawked, deals being made, and freebies being grabbed at the trade fair, Kingsolver ("The Lacuna," "The Poisonwood Bible") insisted that “there is a place for political fiction in the U.S.” As hallowed examples, she cited John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath,” Toni Morrison’s “Beloved,” and David Guterson’s “Snow Falling on Cedars.”
“Is it risky to blend fiction and politics?” Kingsolver asked. “Of course. But fiction is full of risks.” And because fiction creates empathy, she said, it is inherently political.
Kingsolver’s goal in establishing the award was to encourage writers to take the risk of writing political fiction. “I wanted the prize to change a life,” she said. “To open a door to a career. To give the winner a chance to ask, ‘What do I want to say next?’ rather than ‘What do ‘they’ want?’”
Indeed, as Kingsolver intended, the prize promises to change Nussbaum’s life.
As for Nussbaum herself, she hopes that when her tale of disabled teens struggling for dignity and self-determination hits the bookstores next spring, it will change the lives of others as well.
Photo of Susan Nussbaum by Susan Plunkett.
* * *
Join the conversation: What are your favorite works of socially engaged fiction? If you’re writing in that vein yourself, tell us what you’re working on, the challenges you’ve encountered, the solutions you’ve found.
One randomly selected commenter will receive a copy of “Running the Rift,” by Naomi Benaron, 2010’s Bellwether Prize winner. The book tells the tale of Jean Patrick Nkuba, a gifted Rwandan boy living through a time of searing conflict.
* * *
Ellen Cassedy’s new book is "We Are Here: Memories of the Lithuanian Holocaust" (University of Nebraska Press, 2012). Her first post for SheWrites was “Who Cares about Your Family Story? Ten Tips to Ensure Readers Will ...", and her [TIPS OF THE TRADE] series appears monthly.
Comment
-
Comment by Natylie Baldwin on July 5, 2012 at 10:41am -
Thanks for spreading the word about this prize, Ellen. I had heard of Bellwether and was considering entering my novel when it is completed. It is the story of 12-year old boy who lost his father and is being neglected by his grieving mother who is now juggling single parenthood with two dead-end jobs. The boy strikes up an unexpected friendship with the eccentric town drunk (a Vietnam vet) who lives in a trailer at the edge of town and tends a makeshift garden. The overarching theme in the book is people adapting to change and loss, but it also explores war, class, sustainability and community.
Gayle, I just ordered your book, The Book of Dead Birds, a few days ago and am looking forward to reading it. It has been on my to-read list since I heard about it a few months ago.
-
Comment by Laura Diamond on July 5, 2012 at 10:25am -
Thank you for sharing this resource. I am writing my first novel about family homelessness and class differences in Los Angeles, and will pursue this for sure! Barbara Kingsolver is an inspiration.
-
Comment by gayle brandeis on July 5, 2012 at 10:10am -
My first novel, The Book of Dead Birds, won the Bellwether Prize in 2002. I have a feeling that getting that call from Barbara Kingsolver will forever be the highlight of my writing life--she has always been a role model for me on how to seamlessly integrate art and social issues, so to get her blessing (and the blessing of Toni Morrison and Maxine Hong Kingston, who had been the other judges that year, and who are also at the top of my favorite writer list) was such a deep and gratifying thrill. Having won the award, I feel a real responsibility to continue to address social issues in my work. I love that Barbara Kingsolver created the award, and I've loved all the books that have received the prize--so eye opening and full of passion. I can't wait to read Susan Nussbaum's novel!
-
Comment by Suzy Henderson on July 5, 2012 at 9:32am -
Thanks for sharing. Very interesting.
-
Comment by Kamy Wicoff on July 4, 2012 at 10:54am -
Ellen I wasn't aware of this prize -- thank you so much for sharing this!
-
Comment by Karen Banes on June 27, 2012 at 7:13am -
I love speculative fiction that addresses social issues. Everything from The Handmaid's Tale, to Brave New World, 1984 and, most recently, The Hunger Games. I just love it when an author takes a social issue, whether it's increased citizen surveillance or our obsession with reality TV and projects it into the future with a dark and chilling set of consequences. I'm working on a YA speculative fiction novel that does something similar (or tries to!) It addresses how we as a society are losing all our basic survival skills because our world is so comfortable, and how a government could exploit that for it's own benefit. Not sure that's really the kind of socially conscious fiction we're talking about here, but I think it's kind of related!
- ‹ Previous
- 1
- 2
- Next ›
Latest Activity
Kelly Hand commented on the group 'Novelists (Struggling or Not)'
Dana Alexander commented on the group 'Novelists (Struggling or Not)'Top Content
![[What's Next?] What Are You Looking At?](http://api.ning.com/files/eRuLzr7NGdzxIX-NbYnZA2mAewgQe2FMYUYWHIGo0fg73uGnPjLAr1Y9COqUw*7lJrmztYPugO32V68pogbppt*AmtwSapAg/646825845.jpeg?xgip=1%3A23%3A288%3A288%3B%3B&width=32&height=32&crop=1%3A1){kind=small}
Badge
© 2013 Created by Kamy Wicoff.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
You need to be a member of She Writes to add comments!
Join She Writes