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Tobias Wolff has won the $20,000 Story Prize for his collection Our Story Begins Find this book in our catalog

Runners up were Jhumpa Lahiri for Unaccustomed Earth Find this book on our catalog and Joe Meno for Demons in the Spring Find this book in our catalog.

Judges Daniel Menaker, Rick Simonson, and Hannah Tinti cited Wolff’s work for its sense of detail and its humanity: “The previously uncollected pieces by Wolff in this new collection show an increasingly severe insistence on the most telling and specific detail as the author creates entire worlds, entire life stories, out of eloquent molecules of narrative. The emotional impact of these lapidary stories is specific and powerful.� They went on to say: “It is this great sense of the human condition, combined with the close detailing of everyday life that makes Tobias Wolff such an exceptional writer. He deserves The Story Prize, not only for his early work showcased in Our Story Begins, that many of us have studied and read and learned from in the past, but for the ten new stories included, that show he is still at the top of his game.�

Harford County Public Library also owns Our Story Begins and Unaccustomed Earth as audiobooks on CD.

Labels: Demons in the Spring, Jhumpa Lahiri, Joe Meno, Our Story Begins, Short Stories, Story Prize, Tobias Wolff, Unaccustomed Earth