Beyond naming three finalists each January, we also present The Story Prize Spotlight Award to a collection of exceptional merit. Selected books can be promising works by first-time authors, collections in alternative formats, or works that demonstrate an unusual perspective on the writer's craft. The award includes a prize of $1,000.
We're pleased to announce that the winner for books published in 2019 is The Trojan War Museum by Ayşe Papatya Bucak (W.W. Norton), a collection of ten inventive stories that through a variety of historical and contemporary settings deftly explores issues of identity, history, culture, myth, and mythmaking.
This is the eighth time we've given out The Story Prize Spotlight Award. The seven previous winners were: Drifting House by Krys Lee, Byzantium by Ben Stroud, Praying Drunk by Kyle Minor, Killing and Dying by Adrian Tomine, Him, Me, Muhammad Ali by Randa Jarrar, Subcortical by Lee Conell, and Half Gods by Akil Kumarasamy.
Congratulations to Ayşe Papatya Bucak and W.W. Norton for winning The Story Prize Spotlight Award for short story collections published in 2019.
