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Uzodinma Iweala Wins The New York Public Library's 2006 Young Lions Fiction Award for His Novel Beasts of No Nation
June 8, 2006 -At a ceremony last night, twenty-three-year old novelist Uzodinma Iweala was presented with The New York Public Library's 2006 Young Lions Fiction Award by the Library's President Dr. Paul LeClerc. Iweala's debut novel Beasts of No Nation (HarperCollins) is the harrowing tale of a young boy, Agu, pressed into fighting as a child soldier in an unnamed West African country's civil war. Before announcing the winner, Dr. LeClerc praised the Young Lions group for "promoting the idea that writing, reading, publishing, and the consumption of high art in terms of letters is central to the welfare of our civilization." The four other finalists for the award were Rattawut Lapcharoensap for Sightseeing (Grove Press); Kelly Link for Magic for Beginners (Small Beer Press); Ander Monson for Other Electricities (Sarabande Books); and Eric Puchner for Music Through the Floor (Scribner). The award was established in 2001 by the Young Lions, a membership group for supporters of the Library in their 20s and 30s. It is the only major book prize that recognizes fiction by younger writers and includes a $10,000 prize. The ceremony, which was attended by more than 300 of the Library's Young Lions members, was held in the Celeste Bartos Forum of the Humanities and Social Sciences Library. Ethan Hawke, one of the founders of the committee, was joined onstage by actors Famke Janssen and Terrence Howard who, along with himself, read from selections of each of the finalists' works. In accepting the award, Iweala said, "It's great to be in such good company. It's good to know that people are interested in the topic of child soldiers, which is a terrible thing happening worldwide. There are about 300,000 child soldiers around the world. The fact that my book, Beasts of No Nation, can raise awareness of this issue and bring this to people's attention is very meaningful to me." Uzodinma Iweala was born in Washington, D.C. in 1982. He graduated from Harvard University where he was a Mellon Mays Scholar and received a number of prizes for his writing, including the Eager Prize, Horman Prize, Le Baron Briggs Prize, and the Hoopes Prize for outstanding undergraduate thesis. For Beasts of No Nation, Iweala has received the Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction from the Academy of Arts and Letters; The Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction from The Los Angeles Times; and the Barnes and Noble Discover Award for First Fiction. Iweala lives in New York City. A reading committee of Young Lions members, writers, editors, and librarians selected the Fiction Award finalists. The award judges include last year's winner, Andrew Sean Greer, who won for The Confessions of Max Tivoli; the novelist Rick Moody; and the novelist Edmund White, who is currently in residence as a fellow at the Library's Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers. The previous winners of the award are Monique Truong, who won for The Book of Salt, in 2004; Jonathan Safran Foer and Anthony Doerr, co-winners in 2003 for Everything is Illuminated and The Shell Collector, respectively; Colson Whitehead, who won in 2002 for John Henry Days; and Mark Danielewski who won for House of Leaves in 2001. Young Lions committee members Rick Moody, Hannah McFarland, Ethan Hawke, and Jennifer Rudolph Walsh spearheaded the creation of the award and have remained committed to its role in helping talented young writers gain visibility for their work. Nominations for the 2007 award are now being accepted. Award nomination guidelines and entry forms are available from the Library's web site at http://www.nypl.org/support/membership_programs/fictionaward.cfm or by calling (212) 930-0670. Submissions for books published in 2006 will be accepted through August 1, 2006. About the Young Lions Young Lions members are invited to special events created for the group by the Young Lions Committee. Programs include panels, lectures, VIP exhibition openings, behind-the-scenes tours and the Young Lions Fiction Award. For more information on the Young Lions and upcoming events, please call (212) 930-0670 or check the Library's web site at http://www.nypl.org/support/membership_programs/younglions_about.cfm. ### Contact: Tim Farrell 212.704.8600 tf:06.09.06:nypl037 |
