When the three judges for The Story Prize make their choices, they provide citations for the books. This year's judges were Arsen Kashkashian, Noreen Tomassi, and Laura van den Berg. 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's what the judges had to say about Francesca Marciano's The Other Language, one of three finalists for The Story Prize:
Here's what the judges had to say about Francesca Marciano's The Other Language, one of three finalists for The Story Prize:
In this lyrical collection of stories, Francesca Marciano’s characters travel the world from India to Africa from Rome to New York, always attuned to the small social nuances that separate us in more profound ways than geography. They occupy Italian villas, Indian guesthouses, and Kenyan beach bungalows without truly inhabiting them. Marciano’s people come together in startling ways that endure, while bonds that appeared permanent are so fragile they wither away in a single bitter conversation. Regardless of setting or circumstances, the prose is so supple, so sure-handed, that we as readers are prepared to journey wherever Marciano’s imagination will take us.
