Video of The Story Prize Event: Edwidge Danticat (winner), Kali Fajardo-Anstine, and Zadie Smith

Here's the video of The Story Prize event, featuring the three finalists—Edwidge Danticat (the winner), Kali Fajardo-Anstine, and Zadie Smith—reading from and discussing their work:

What The Story Prize Judges Had to Say About Finalist Sabrina & Corina by Kali Fajardo-Anstine

Photo © Beowulf Sheehan

When the three judges for The Story Prize make their choices, they provide citations for the books. This year's judges were writer and librarian Kristen Arnett, publisher Andy Hunter, and writer Tiphanie Yanique. We include the citations in congratulatory letters we present to each finalist, along with their checks ($20,000 to the winner, $5,000 to the other two finalists). To protect the confidentiality of the judges' votes and the integrity of the process, we don't attribute citations to any particular judge.

Here what the judges had to say about Sabrina & Corina by Kali Fajardo-Anstine:

“This is a short story collection that will find its way into your dreams—often as nightmares. The women of these stories will awake you in the middle of the night—they will be a warning. Fajardo-Anstine crafts each story around major turning points in the lives of Native and Latinx women from and of Colorado. As a writer, she is able to build characters who withstand and succumb to incredible physical pain and emotional strife-—but we never feel that we must look away. She makes her characters human enough that we feel it our duty to look, to keep reading. Without being overly plot driven, the stories are page turners. Without being overly dramatic, the stories make the reader feel agony. Fajardo-Anstine achieves this by writing with restraint in her sentences but with brimming emotional and physical honesty. Women have bodies, emotions, histories—and most of all women have each other. After each story I found myself wanting to call, touch, be with my sister, friends, daughters, nieces, cousins, aunts, mothers. Another way to be with them is to say, read this book.”

The 2019/20 Finalists for The Story Prize Are: Edwidge Danticat, Kali Fajardo-Anstine, and Zadie Smith

We're pleased to announce as this year's finalists for The Story Prize three outstanding short story collections chosen from 94 submissions representing 72 different publishers or imprints.  Everything Inside by Edwidge Danticat (Alfred A. Knopf) Sabrina & Corina by Kali Fajardo-Anstine (One World) Grand Union by Zadie Smith (Penguin Press) The winner will be announced at The Story Prize's annual award event at the New School's Auditorium at 66 West 12th Street in New York City at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 26. Tickets to the event are $14, which goes toward supporting The Story Prize and literary programs at The New School. That night, finalists Danticat, Fajardo-Anstine, and Smith will read from and discuss their work on-stage. After which we will announce the winner and present that author with $20,000 and an engraved silver bowl. The two runners-up will each receive $5,000.The Story Prize is co-sponsored by the Graduate Writing Program at The New School.  Story Prize Founder Julie Lindsey and Director Larry Dark selected the finalists. Three independent judges will determine the winner: Author and librarian Kristen Arnett. Founder of ElectricLiterature, the Literary Hub, and Catapult--and publisher of Catapult, Counterpoint, Black Balloon, and Softskull Books--Andy Hunter. Author Tiphanie Yanique. In the weeks ahead, we'll announce this year's winner of The Story Prize Spotlight Award. We'll also publish a long list of other exceptional collections we read last year.