Olga Grushin Wins The New York Public Library’s 2007 Young Lions Fiction Award for The Dream Life of Sukhanov

May 22, 2007 – At a ceremony last evening, Olga Grushin was presented with The New York Public Library’s 2007 Young Lions Fiction Award by the Library’s President Dr. Paul LeClerc. Grushin’s first novel The Dream Life of Sukhanov is the haunting story of Anatoly Sukahnov, Russia’s leading art critic who is plagued by the ghosts of his past and must confront a lifetime of compromises.

The four other finalists for the award were Chris Adrian for The Children’s Hospital; Kevin Brockmeier for The Brief History of the Dead; Tony D’Souza for Whiteman; and Karen Russell for St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves. 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 was held in the Celeste Bartos Forum of the Humanities and Social Sciences Library. Ethan Hawke, one of the founders of the Fiction Award, was joined onstage by actors Robert Sean Leonard, Martha Plimpton, and John Lloyd Young to read excerpts from each of the finalists' works.

Announcing the winner, Library President Dr. Paul LeClerc said, “Tonight represents what is best in the life of the Library – celebrating the best talent in the United States. We’re proud to recognize writers of the next generation and to support their commitment to lives as artists.”

Born in 1971, Olga Grushin did her early schooling in Prague. She returned to Moscow in 1981, and later studied art history at the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts and journalism at Moscow State University. In 1989, she was given a full scholarship to Emory University. She has been a researcher and an interpreter at the Carter Center and an editor at Harvard University’s Dumbarton Oaks Researach Library and Collection.  Her short fiction has appeared in Partisan Review, The Massachusetts Review, Confrontation, and Art Times. This is her first novel. Grushin, who became a U.S. citizen in 2002, lives outside Washington D.C. with her husband and their son.

The five fiction writers were selected by a reading committee of Young Lions members, writers, editors, and librarians. A panel of three award judges, including last year’s winner Uzodinma Iweala; acclaimed New York author and reviewer Kathryn Harrison; and former journalist and award winning author Jeff Talarigo, currently in residence as a fellow at the Library's Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers, subsequently choose the winner for the $10,000 prize. 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.

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.

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Contact :             Jennifer Lam   212.592.7708          

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