Elizabeth Strout Wins Fiction Pulitzer Prize

ElizabethStrout

Saratoga Springs, NY (April 21, 2009) - Yaddo extends congratulations to author Elizabeth Strout, who on Monday was awarded the 2009 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction for her short story collection Olive Kitteridge, which she worked on during a Yaddo residency.

Olive Kitteridge (Random House, March, 2008) is a group of 13 connected stories set in a small Maine town and centered on the title character. Ms. Strout’s "polished prose" and the creation of a "blunt, flawed, and fascinating" pivotal personality produced a book that "packs a cumulative emotional wallop," the Pulitzer jury stated in its award citation. The award includes a $10,000 prize.

Ms. Strout, 53, was born in Maine and now lives in Brooklyn. She is a graduate of Bates College and Syracuse College of Law and also is the author of two novels, Amy and Isabelle (1998) and Abide with Me (2006). Her previous literary honors include The Los Angeles Times Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction and The Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize for Amy and Isabelle.

Three other Yaddo artists were finalists in this year’s Pulitzer competition: Louise Erdrich in fiction for her novel The Plague of Doves; Gina Gionfriddo in drama for her comedy Becky Shaw; and Harold Meltzer in music for his sextet Brion, which premiered with the Cygnus Ensemble April 23, 2008 at Merkin Hall in New York City.

For a list of all Yaddo Pulitzer Prize winners, click here.