Windham – Campbell Literature Prize

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The Windham – Campbell Literature Prize is an American literary prize named after the writer Donald Windham and his partner, the actor Sandy Campbell . The prize money is 165,000 US dollars, making the prize one of the most highly endowed literary prizes in the world (and in some categories even the highest endowed literary prize). The prize is awarded on behalf of Yale University .

History and award criteria

In June 2011 it was announced that Windham had commissioned Yale University to award the " Donald Windham-Sandy M. Campbell Literature Prizes ", named after him and his partner, in seven to nine categories.

Both well-known authors and authors who are just beginning their careers should be considered as award winners. Windham himself had never attended college and had faced a number of financial problems early in his career. Therefore, today each category is endowed with 165,000 US dollars (150,000 US dollars at the beginning). The prize money comes from the estate of Windham, who invested his income lucratively and maintained a low-key lifestyle. Although his intention was known, he relied on Yale University to award the prizes and set few conditions.

The prize is awarded every spring in the categories of fictional , non-fictional , lyric (since 2017) and drama . The selection process takes place in two stages. First, the authors are proposed by the nominees. These are well-known literary critics, former award winners, other writers, librarians, booksellers, editors, theater producers and others whose expertise is valued in the English-language literary scene. Each nominee can propose two authors and must write a laudation for their choice. A dossier is then created on the authors.

The jury is made up of three people per category who are selected by the President of Yale University and either belong to this institution or also come from the English literary world. The anonymous jury selects four finalists in each category. In a third step, a committee consisting of two members personally nominated by Windham and seven people appointed by the President of Yale will decide on the award of the award. The winners, who did not know about the nomination process until then, will be announced in the spring, but will not receive the prizes until September. You have to receive it personally and attend a multi-day literature festival.

The first winners were announced on March 4, 2013. The ceremony took place on September 10, 2013 at Yale University. This was followed by the first multi-day festival.

The patronage is Yalesbeincke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, which also manages the written estate of Windham.

Overview of the award winners

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ History & Mission. In: Official website. Retrieved February 24, 2019 .
  2. ^ Charles McGrath: Yale Announcing $ 150,000 Literary Prizes . In: The New York Times . June 17, 2011, ISSN  0362-4331 ( nytimes.com [accessed February 24, 2019]).
  3. ^ Yale to launch $ 150,000 writing award. In: LA Times Blogs - Jacket Copy. June 20, 2011, Retrieved February 24, 2019 (American English).
  4. ↑ a b Selection Process. In: Official website. Retrieved February 24, 2019 .
  5. ↑ a b c Mike Cummings: Yale awards eight writers $ 165,000 Windham-Campbell Prizes. March 7, 2018, accessed February 24, 2019 .