The PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay is awarded by the PEN America (formerly PEN American Center) to an author for a book of original collected essays.[1] The award was founded by PEN Member and author Barbaralee Diamonstein and Carl Spielvogel,[2] former New York Times columnist, "to preserve the dignity and esteem that the essay form imparts to literature."[3] The winner receives a cash award of $10,000.[1]

The award was on hiatus from 2005 to 2010.[1]

The award is one of many PEN awards sponsored by International PEN affiliates in over 145 PEN centres around the world. The PEN American Center awards have been characterized as being among the "major" American literary prizes.[4]

Award winners

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (February 2023)
PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay winners
Year Author Title Result Ref.
1990 Bernard Knox Essays Ancient and Modern Winner
1991 Martha Nussbaum Love's Knowledge Winner
1992 David Morris The Culture of Pain Winner
1993 Frederick Crews The Critics Bear It Away: American Fiction and the Academy Winner
1994 Stanley Fish There's No Such Thing as Free Speech, and it's a Good Thing, Too Winner
1995 John Brinckerhoff Jackson A Sense of Place, A Sense of Time Winner
1996 Thomas Nagel Other Minds Winner
1997 Cynthia Ozick Fame and Folly Winner
1998 Adam Hochschild Finding the Trapdoor Winner
1999 Marilynne Robinson The Death of Adam Winner
2000 Annie Dillard For the Time Being Winner
2001 David Quammen The Boilerplate Rhino Winner
2002 David Bromwich Skeptical Music Winner
2003 William H. Gass Test of Time Winner
2004 Stewart Justman Seeds of Mortality Winner
2011 Mark Slouka Essays from the Nick of Time Winner [5]
2012 Christopher Hitchens Arguably Winner [6][7]
2013 Robert Hass What Light Can Do Winner [8][9]
Jill Lepore The Story of America Shortlist [10][11]
Daniel Mendelsohn Waiting for the Barbarians Shortlist [10][11]
2014 James Wolcott Critical Mass Winner [12][13][14]
Rebecca Solnit The Faraway Nearby Shortlist [15]
David Sedaris Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls Shortlist [15]
Janet Malcolm Forty-One False Starts Shortlist [15]
2015 Ian Buruma Theater of Cruelty: Art, Film, and the Shadow of War Winner [16][17]
David Bromwich Moral Imagination Shortlist [18]
Charles D’Ambrosio Loitering Shortlist [18]
Leslie Jamison The Empathy Exams Shortlist [18]
Angela Pelster Limber Shortlist [18]
2016 Ta-Nehisi Coates Between the World and Me Winner [19][20][21]
Renata Adler After the Tall Timber: Collected Non-Fiction Shortlist [22]
Susan Howe The Quarry Shortlist [22][23]
Marilynne Robinson The Givenness of Things: Essays Shortlist [22]
David L. Ulin Sidewalking: Coming to Terms with Los Angeles Shortlist [22]
2017 Angela Morales The Girls In My Town: Essays Winner [24][25][26]
2018 Ursula K. Le Guin No Time to Spare: Thinking About What Matters Winner [27][28][29][30]
2019 Michelle Tea Against Memoir Winner [31][32][33]
2020 Deborah Fleming Resurrection of the Wild Winner [34][35]
Eve Babitz I Used to Be Charming: The Rest of Eve Babitz Shortlist [36]
Leslie Jamison Make It Scream, Make It Burn: Essays Shortlist [36]
Emily Nussbaum I Like To Watch: Arguing My Way Through the TV Revolution Shortlist [36]
Jia Tolentino Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion Shortlist [36]
2021 Barbara Ehrenreich Had I Known: Collected Essays Winner [37][38]
2022 Margaret Renkl Graceland, at Last: Notes on Hope and Heartache from the American South Winner [39][40][41]
Hanif Abdurraqib A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance Shortlist [42][43]
André Aciman Homo Irrealis: Essays Shortlist [42][43]
Teju Cole Black Paper: Writing in a Dark Time Shortlist [42][43]
Ann Patchett These Precious Days: Essays Shortlist [42][43]
2023 Judith Thurman A Left-Handed Woman Winner [44]
Jhumpa Lahiri Translating Myself and Others Shortlist [45]
Peter Orner Still No Word From You Shortlist [45]
David Sedaris Happy-Go-Lucky Shortlist [45]
Alison Townsend The Green Hour: A Natural History of Home Shortlist [45]

References

  1. ^ a b c Writer's Chronicle, "PEN Revives Essay Award", February 2011 issue. Google cache.
  2. ^ Lordina Ash, Avenue, "Record (Setting) Collectors", May 2011, pg. 61
  3. ^ PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay Archived 2018-07-23 at the Wayback Machine, official website.
  4. ^ Alfred Bendixen (2005). "Literary Prizes and Awards". The Continuum Encyclopedia of American Literature. Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 689. ISBN 9780826417770. Archived from the original on 2023-02-24. Retrieved 2016-10-23.
  5. ^ Lisa (2012-11-16). "2011 Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay". PEN America. Archived from the original on 2022-08-17. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  6. ^ Lisa (2012-11-16). "2012 PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award". PEN America. Archived from the original on 2022-06-28. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  7. ^ "Awards: PEN Literary". Shelf Awareness. August 30, 2012. Archived from the original on 2023-02-03. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  8. ^ Carolyn Kellogg (August 14, 2013). "Jacket Copy: PEN announces winners of its 2013 awards". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 16, 2013. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  9. ^ "Awards: PEN Literary". Shelf Awareness. August 15, 2013. Archived from the original on 2022-11-27. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  10. ^ a b "PEN American Center 2013 Literary Awards Shortlists". Publishers Weekly. 2013-07-11. Archived from the original on 2022-01-16. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  11. ^ a b "Shortlists Announced for the 2013 PEN Literary Awards". PEN America. 2013-07-10. Archived from the original on 2022-12-16. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  12. ^ Williams, John (July 30, 2014). "James Wolcott and Frank Bidart Among 2014 PEN American Winners". New York Times. Archived from the original on August 1, 2014. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  13. ^ "2014 PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay". PEN America. 2014-04-16. Archived from the original on 2022-12-06. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  14. ^ "Awards: PEN Literary". Shelf Awareness. July 31, 2014. Archived from the original on 2020-08-15. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  15. ^ a b c "Shortlists Announced for the 2014 PEN Literary Awards". PEN America. 2014-06-18. Archived from the original on 2022-10-02. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  16. ^ "Awards: PEN; Frank O'Connor; CWA Dagger". Shelf Awareness. June 9, 2015. Archived from the original on 2021-05-09. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  17. ^ "2015 PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay". PEN America. 2015-01-30. Archived from the original on 2023-02-02. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  18. ^ a b c d "2015 PEN Literary Awards Shortlist". PEN America. 2015-04-10. Archived from the original on 2022-12-06. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  19. ^ "2016 PEN Literary Award Winners". PEN. June 17, 2016. Archived from the original on March 1, 2016. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  20. ^ Maher, John (2016-04-12). "Morrison, Coates, Redniss Win 2016 PEN Awards". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on 2022-08-18. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  21. ^ "Awards: PEN Winners; Baileys Women's Fiction Shortlist". Shelf Awareness. April 12, 2016. Archived from the original on 2023-01-30. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  22. ^ a b c d "2016 PEN Literary Awards Shortlists". PEN America. 2016-01-22. Archived from the original on 2022-12-06. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  23. ^ "Awards: Frost Medal; Friedrich Ulfers Prize". Shelf Awareness. January 26, 2017. Archived from the original on 2022-08-18. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  24. ^ Tubb, Nathaniel (2017-03-27). "2017 PEN/DIAMONSTEIN-SPIELVOGEL AWARD FOR THE ART OF THE ESSAY". PEN America. Archived from the original on 2022-10-03. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  25. ^ "Awards: PEN Literary; BTBA Longlists; Christophers". Shelf Awareness. March 29, 2017. Archived from the original on 2022-12-24. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  26. ^ Maher, John (2017-03-27). "At PEN Awards, A Scaled-Up Atmosphere and Political Bent". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on 2022-12-06. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  27. ^ John Maher (February 21, 2018). "Long Soldier, Zhang, Le Guin Win At 2018 PEN Literary Awards". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on February 22, 2018. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  28. ^ "Awards: PEN America Literary; L.A. Times Book Finalists". Shelf Awareness. February 22, 2018. Archived from the original on 2022-10-01. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  29. ^ "The 2018 PEN America Literary Awards Winners". PEN America. February 20, 2018. Archived from the original on February 21, 2018. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  30. ^ Porter Anderson (January 31, 2018). "Industry Notes: PEN America's Finalists". Publishing Perspectives. Archived from the original on February 22, 2018. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  31. ^ "Michelle Tea wins PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay". Feminist Press. Archived from the original on 2021-09-12. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  32. ^ Maher, John (2019-02-27). "'Daring Works' Fêted at 2019 PEN America Literary Awards". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on 2022-09-24. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  33. ^ "PEN America Literary Award Winners Honored". Shelf Awareness. February 27, 2019. Archived from the original on 2022-12-26. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  34. ^ Tidwell, Christy (March 9, 2020). "DEBORAH FLEMING'S RESURRECTION OF THE WILD WINS PEN/DIAMONSTEIN-SPIELVOGEL AWARD FOR THE ART OF THE ESSAY". asle.org. Archived from the original on July 6, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  35. ^ "PEN America Literary Award Winners Honored". Shelf Awareness. March 4, 2020. Archived from the original on 2022-08-19. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  36. ^ a b c d "PEN America 2020 Awards Shortlists Announced". Publishers Weekly. 2020-01-29. Archived from the original on 2022-07-03. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  37. ^ "Barbara Ehrenreich among winners of PEN literary awards". AP News. April 9, 2021. Archived from the original on May 18, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  38. ^ "PEN America Literary Award Winners Honored". Shelf Awareness. April 9, 2021. Archived from the original on 2022-12-25. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  39. ^ Smith, Eliza (March 1, 2022). "Here are the winners of the 2022 PEN America Literary Awards". Literary Hub. Archived from the original on March 3, 2022. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  40. ^ Stewart, Sophia (2022-03-01). "Hernández, Choi, Renkl, Peters, and Miles Win 2022 PEN Lit Awards". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on 2022-11-30. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  41. ^ "PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay". PEN America. 2020-06-10. Archived from the original on 2022-12-05. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  42. ^ a b c d Stewart, Sophia (2022-01-26). "PEN America Announces Finalists for 2022 Literary Awards". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on 2022-12-05. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  43. ^ a b c d "Announcing the 2022 PEN America Literary Awards Finalists". PEN America. 2022-01-26. Archived from the original on 2022-10-10. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  44. ^ "PEN America Literary Award Winners Celebrated". Shelf Awareness. 2023-03-06. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
  45. ^ a b c d "Announcing the 2023 PEN America Literary Awards Finalists". PEN America. 2023-02-15. Archived from the original on 2023-02-20. Retrieved 2023-02-25.

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