Formerly self-published author Sergio De La Pava has won the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for A Naked Singularity, his 688-page debut novel now published by University of Chicago Press.
The award includes a $25,000 stipend “intended to permit a significant degree of leisure in which to pursue a second work of literary fiction.” Previous winners of the award include Jonathan Safran Foer, Paul Harding, Danielle Evans and Vanessa Veselka.
You can see all the 2013 PEN Literary Award winners at this link.
Here’s more from the PEN America judges:
In exact and energetic prose, A Naked Singularity can swerve from a blistering and precise portrait of the U.S criminal justice system to a lingering description of the proper preparation and consumption of empanadas. Sergio De La Pava’s gift with language is tremendous, and much of the triumph of this book is in its command of a range of human voices: from the book’s breathless first chapter on, the reader knows to trust De La Pava not just for how well he captures speech, but for what he’s willing to hear.
Link via Michael Orthofer & WSJ)