Vietnam War veteran Tim O’Brien has won the 2012 Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award. This $10,000 honorarium is awarded by the organizers behind the Dayton Literary Peace Prize.
During the ceremony, the National Book Award-winning novelist fought back tears as he accepted his award. Follow this link to view a video with O’Brien’s full speech. Last year, The Poisonwood Bible author Barbara Kingsolver won this prize.
Here’s more from the release: “‘The Dayton Literary Peace Prize promotes the cause of peace by helping people understand the ugly realities of war on a deep, personal level, which is exactly what I strive to do in my work,’ said O’Brien. ‘It is a great, great honor to have been chosen as a recipient of the Richard C. Holbrooke Award. Over what has been a long career, this award means more to me than any other — by far.'”