Recently, PEN America announced the winners of the 2018 PEN America Literary Awards for books of note for writers living west of the Mississippi River. With much excitement, I’d like to share that my collection Palm Frond with its Throat Cut was selected for the poetry award! I’m extremely moved since the book is a collection of many voices: brothers, mothers, our freeways, the land we work and live on, loves comes and gone, all of them working-class, resilient, and beautiful.
LA, this book is for all of us who make this place what it is.
The PEN America Literary Awards are juried by panels of award-winning writers, editors, booksellers, and critics. PEN America has honored many outstanding writers in literature across genre, such as children’s literature, drama, essays, fiction, poetry, science writing, and sports writing. To learn more about Pen America, visit their website.
This year, the shortlist included amazing works by:
Mary Jo Bang, A Doll for Throwing (Graywolf Press)
Henry Wei Leung, Goddess of Democracy (Omnidawn Publishing)
Danez Smith, Don’t Call Us Dead (Graywolf Press)
Thank you to judges Ari Banias, Sarah Manguso, and Ocean Vuong.
Our books will be celebrated at the 2018 LitFest Gala on November 2nd, 2018 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA. To read more about the winners, visit PEN America here.
Vickie Vértiz 