2010 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
“The St. Botolph Emerging Artist Grant gave a sense of authentication to my first efforts at writing fiction. Making art seemed possibly unreal, a kind of dream, an affectation, even, for a good while. Then, suddenly, there were other, thoughtful, literary, discerning people – readers! – who had looked at some of my stuff and liked it, found worth in it, felt it should be recognized and even abetted. The grant was one of the very first signs from the outside world that the stakes were real and that I should, as it were, double down and really get to it. It was an incredibly empowering moment at a pivotal point in my life as a writer.”