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Monique Truong Wins The New York Public Library's 2004 Young Lions Fiction Award for Her Novel "The Book of Salt" New York, NY, April 1, 2004 - At an award ceremony last night, Monique Truong was awarded The New York Public Library's 2004 Young Lions Fiction Award for The Book of Salt (Houghton Mifflin). Truong's novel is the fictionalized story of the Vietnamese cook who worked for Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas in Paris in the 1930s. In announcing the prize the Library's President, Paul LeClerc, said "This year's award goes to a novel that can rightly be called historical but, like all works of startling originality, surpasses that genre to become a story beyond the boundaries of time." Kirkus Reviews called The Book of Salt a "tour de force," and said "Truong should take literate America by storm." Publishers Weekly said that it is Truong's "intuitive understanding of the condition of exile -- 'the pure sea salt sadness of the outcast'-- that infuses her novel with richness and beauty." The other finalists for the 2004 Young Lions Fiction Award were Susan Choi for American Woman, Jordan Ellenberg for The Grasshopper King, Maile Meloy for Liars and Saints, and Lara Vapnyar for There Are Jews in My House. Now in its fourth year, The Young Lions Fiction Award honors a novel or collection of short stories published within the calendar year by an American author age 35 or younger. The award was established by the Young Lions, a membership group for supporters of the Library in their 20s and 30s. It is the only major book prize that recognizes fiction by younger writers and includes a $10,000 prize. Young Lions committee members Rick Moody, Ethan Hawke, and Jennifer Rudolph Walsh spearheaded the creation of the award and have remained committed to its role in helping talented young writers gain visibility for their work. The ceremony, held in the Library's Celeste Bartos Forum, featured Ethan Hawke and actress Ellen Barkin reading excerpts from the finalists' works. Novelist Rick Moody ( The Ice Storm , Demonology) spoke about the challenges facing aspiring writers, and Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, Executive Vice President and Co-Head of the Worldwide Literary Department, William Morris Agency introduced the writers and their work. Anthony Doerr, one of last year's co-winners, spoke about the impact of winning the award. Bliss Broyard, author of My Father, Dancing, and member of the Young Lions Fiction Award steering committee, paid special tribute to Amanda Davis, the late author of the novel Wonder When You'll Miss Me, and short-story collection Circling the Drain. Davis's career was cut tragically short in a plane accident in March of last year. "Amanda was torn from us far too soon," said Broyard. "She will be missed for her skill at connecting the writing community, for her willingness to lend a hand, for her big heart and her huge talent." An honorary award for Davis will be donated, according to the wishes of her brother Adam and sister Joanna, to the Amanda Davis Memorial Scholarship Fund, established to help other young writers attend the Bread Loaf Writer's Conference at Middlebury College. In accepting her award, Monique Truong said, "One of the reasons I wrote The Book of Salt was to answer for myself the question 'where is home and why is it a home?'. Binh is a cook and is enormously displaced. Home is not where he was born and not where he has exiled himself to and may or may not be where he ends up. Home is composed of memories, stories, and voices, that travel with him. Coming to that conclusion was incredibly comforting to me. Because I am a person displaced by war, the idea that home is a place you carry within yourself is a comforting idea. That was the story I needed to hear." Truong was born in Saigon in 1968 and emigrated to the United States at age six. She graduated from Yale University and the Columbia University School of Law, going on to practice in the area of intellectual property. Her novel was inspired by a brief mention in the Alice B. Toklas Cook Book of Toklas and Gertrude Stein's hiring of a Vietnamese cook. Truong now lives in Brooklyn, New York. A Reading Committee of Young Lions members, writers, editors, and librarians selected the Fiction Award finalists. The award judges included last years's co-winners, Anthony Doerr, who won for The Shell Collector, and Jonathan Safran Foer, who was selected for Everything is Illuminated. The third judge was the writer Maureen Howard, who is currently in residence as a fellow in the Library's Center for Scholars and Writers. The other previous winners of the award were Colson Whitehead, who won in 2002 for John Henry Days and Mark Danielewski who won for House of Leaves in 2001. Nominations for the 2004 award are now being accepted. Award nomination guidelines and entry forms are available from the Library's web site or by calling 212-930-0887. Submissions for books published in 2004 will be accepted through August 1, 2004. About the Young Lions ### Press Contact: Herb Scher or Jennifer Bertrand 212.221.7676 |