Dominique Morrisseau and Jasmine Lee-Jones.
NEW HAVEN, CONN.: Yale University will award the 2023 Windham-Campbell Prizes to eight writers in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama. This 12 months’s recipients embody Percival Everett (United States) and Ling Ma (United States) in fiction; Susan Williams (United Kingdom) and Darran Anderson (Ireland/United Kingdom) in nonfiction; Alexis Pauline Gumbs (United States) and dg nanouk okpik (Iñupiaq-Inuit) in poetry; and Dominique Morisseau (United States) and Jasmine Lee-Jones (United Kingdom) in drama. This 12 months’s recipients will obtain unrestricted grants of $175,000, a $10,000 enhance from earlier years.
“Reading this year’s recipients excited me because each one taught me new ways of seeing the past, the present, and the future,” stated Michael Kelleher, director of the Windham-Campbell Prizes, in an announcement. “I can’t wait to see what each of them does next.”
Established in 2013 by Donald Windham in reminiscence of his associate of 40 years, Sandy Campbell, and administered by the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, the prizes are designed to acknowledge literary achievement and supply writers with the chance to give attention to their work unbiased of economic issues. Since their inception, the Windham-Campell Prizes have supported 91 writers representing 21 international locations throughout the globe.
The awards shall be offered in individual within the fall throughout an annual worldwide literary competition at Yale. Writers are nominated confidentially and judged anonymously. The are conferred yearly to eight writers working in English anyplace on this planet, and might be awarded at any stage of a author’s profession. Sixty nominators from the literary subject are chosen annually, with 15 nominators for every class being invited to make two nominations every. Finalists are then chosen by the prize juries, with three jurors in every class.
At 24 years outdated, playwright Jasmine Lee-Jones is the youngest recipient of a Windham-Campbell Prize but. Her groundbreaking debut play, seven strategies of killing kylie jenner, premiered in 2019. It follows Cleo, a self-proclaimed Twitter activist, and her greatest pal Kara as they negotiate their more and more entangled offline and on-line identities. Her sophomore play Curious explores the racial politics of efficiency in Britain from the 18th century to the current. Lee-Jones is the recipient of an Alfred Fagon Award (2019), a Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright (2019), and a Critics’ Circle Theatre Award for Most Promising Playwright (2019). She lives in London.
“I’m honestly still flabbergasted that the universe (and of course the Windham-Campbell Trust) has made a path for me to forge my dreams on my own terms,” stated Lee-Jones in an announcement. “Recently, I was feeling so disheartened by the seemingly countless amount of hurdles one is required to overcome to secure funding to pursue creative projects in this industry. Now facing the reality that I can pursue those dreams without any of those hurdles for a while, is not only affirming but also moving on a deeply spiritual level.”
Dominique Morisseau is a preeminent dramatist and inventive chief within the international theatre subject. Her physique of labor consists of the critically acclaimed three-play cycle The Detroit Project (Skeleton Crew, Paradise Blue, and Detroit ’67), in addition to Confederates (2022), Pipeline (2017), and Blood on the Root (2014). Her work attracts upon the wealthy histories of Black American literature, music, and activism to create dramatic experiences that delve into the entanglement of artwork and politics. Most lately, she has acquired a Drama Desk Award (2019), a MacArthur Fellowship (2018), two Obie Awards (2018, 2016), and a Steinberg Playwright Award (2015). She lives in Los Angeles along with her husband and son.
“With all going on in the world,” stated Morisseau in an announcement, “it is beyond joyous to learn that my work and voice matters and I’m being encouraged to continue on! As an artist, the ability to continue to make a living telling stories is vital to my growth and mission in life, and awards like these help to make a pathway for my creativity and passion to thrive. It’s thrilling and inspiring!”