Pakistan’s Nadeem Aslam among fiction prize winners.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: Indian author Pankaj Mishra has been named as one of the eight recipients of the prestigious Windham Campbell Literature Prize, an award given out by Yale University which grants each winner $150,000.
In announcing that Mishra had won the prize, Yale University released a statement saying “Pursuing high standards of literary style, Pankaj Mishra gives us new narratives about the evolution of modern Asia.”
The award recognizes writers in the fields of fiction, non-fiction, and drama. Mishra, along with the other winners, will receive their awards at an event on September 15.
Mishra won in the category of non-fiction, a subject in which he has written several books. Most recently, he published “A Great Clamour: Encounters with China and its Neighbors” in 2013; prior to that, Mishra published “From the Ruins of Empire: The Intellectuals Who Remade Asia” in 2012, “Temptations of the West: How to Be Modern in India, Pakistan, Tibet, and Beyond” in 2006, “An End to Suffering: the Buddha in the World” in 2004, and “Butter Chicken in Ludhiana: Travels in Small Town India” in 1995.
In 1999, Mishra published his novel entitled “The Romantics,” a fiction work. In a statement released after he won the award, Mishra talked about how much he wanted to write another novel, but has never been able to in the last 15 years.
“Such delightful news! As a freelancer obliged to make a living from writing, you are always scrounging for bits of time in which to write the next book, and this wonderfully generous prize will help me secure a long undistracted period,” Mishra said.
The other winners of the 2014 Windham Campbell Literature Prize are:
- Nadeem Aslam – Pakistan – fiction.
- Kia Corthron – United States – drama.
- Jim Crace – United Kingdom – fiction.
- Aminatta Forna – Sierra Leone – fiction.
- Noelle Janaczewska – Australia – drama.
- Sam Holcroft – United Kingdom – drama.
- John Vaillant – United States/Canada – non-fiction
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com