This just in! Lee Upton is winner of the 2nd Annual BOA Editions Short Fiction Prize for her collection The Tao of Humiliation. After receiving nearly 100 manuscripts, the collection was selected from among four finalists by BOA Publisher Peter Conners. Upton will receive a $500 honorarium and book publication by BOA Editions, Ltd. in the spring of 2014.
Of the collection, Peter Conners says, “What impressed me most about Lee Upton’s debut short story collection is her ability to peel back layers of experience, revealing the complexity of human emotion buried in even our simplest interactions. Upton tells a great story, yes, but she never bows to easy answers or pre-packaged characterizations. Instead, she offers up stories with true depth, insight, and enough twists to keep any reader enthralled. To write with such skill and sensitivity takes great life experience and the patience of a master writer.”
The three other finalists selected were The Dwindlers by Maureen O’Brien; A Tour of North American Ruins by Dan Moreau; and Kingdom of the Sun by James Terry.
Lee Upton is the author of twelve books, including the collection of essays Swallowing the Sea: On Writing & Ambition, Boredom, Purity, & Secrecy; the novella The Guide to the Flying Island; five books of poetry, including Undid in the Land of Undone; and four books of literary criticism. Her short stories and poems appear widely. Her awards include the Lyric Poetry Award and The Writer/Emily Dickinson Award from the Poetry Society of America; the Pushcart Prize; the National Poetry Series Award; and the Miami University Novella Award. She is the Writer-in-Residence and a professor of English at Lafayette College.
Upon learning that she had won the BOA Short Fiction Prize, Upton said, “I’m so happy (beyond happy) to have [BOA’s] support and to know that my stories will be published by BOA.” She expressed that she is “delighted…that the collection will have such a distinguished, exciting, and warm home.”
BOA Editions will accept manuscripts for the 3rd annual BOA Editions Short Fiction Prize between April 1 and May 31, 2013. An entry form and fee are required. The guidelines for the 2013 BOA Editions Short Fiction Prize will be announced on the BOA website later this year.
Thank you to all who submitted, and congratulations to Lee Upton, winner of the BOA Short Fiction Prize!
