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Andrew Sean Greer Wins The New York Public Library's 2005 Young Lions Fiction Award for His Novel "The Confessions of Max Tivoli"
May 1, 2005, New York, N.Y. - At a ceremony last night, novelist Andrew Sean Greer was presented with The New York Public Library's 2005 Young Lions Fiction Award by the Library's president, Dr. Paul LeClerc. Greer's novel, The Confessions of Max Tivoli (Farrar, Straus & Giroux/Picador), is set in San Francisco at the turn of the twentieth century and is the story of a boy with a peculiar condition: born with the body of an old man, he grows younger in appearance with each passing year. In announcing the winner, Dr. LeClerc called the work "a truly original novel that offers fresh perspective on questions of love and age through an elegant balance of parody and profundity. It is a captivating love story: a breakthrough for its author, and a breakthrough in American letters." LeClerc also announced the creation of a new endowment for the Young Lions Fiction Award, thereby ensuring that the award will continue to honor young writers for generations to come. The four other finalists for the award were Marc Bojanowski for The Dog Fighter (Morrow); Sarah Shun-lien Bynum for Madeleine is Sleeping (Harcourt); Aaron Gwyn for The Dog on the Cross: Stories (Algonquin); and Stephen Elliott for Happy Baby (MacAdam/Cage). Marking its fifth year, 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. The ceremony, which was attended by more than 350 of the Library's Young Lions supporters, was held in the Celeste Bartos Forum of the Humanities and Social Sciences Library. The speakers included Andrea Olshan of the Young Lions committee and actor Ethan Hawke, one of the founders of the committee, who stressed the importance of recognizing young talent. Hawke then introduced the four actors who, along with himself, read selections from each of the finalists' works. Oliver Platt read from The Confessions of Max Tivoli; Josh Lucas, from Happy Baby; Griffin Dunne, from Madeleine is Sleeping; Joan Allen, from The Dog on the Cross; and Ethan Hawke, from The Dog Fighter. In his acceptance speech, Greer combined gracious thanks with light humor. He acknowledged that "the best thing about this award is that since the other finalists are around my age, I actually know them. They're my friends, which is beautiful." Greer also acknowledged that such recognition was "hugely important" for young writers. He went on the thank the Young Lions committee as "the only place in America where 34 is still considered young." Greer was born in Washington, DC and studied creative writing at Brown University with Robert Coover and Edmund White. Greer also holds an MFA in fiction writing from the University of Montana. He is the author of the story collection How It Was For Me and the novel The Path of Minor Planets. He lives in San Francisco. A Reading Committee of Young Lions members, writers, editors, and librarians selected the Fiction Award finalists. The award judges include last year's winner, Monique Truong, who won for The Book of Salt; the essayist and novelist Siri Hustvedt; and the novelist Colum McCann, who is currently in residence as a fellow in the Library's Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers. The previous winners of the award are Jonathan Safran Foer and Anthony Doerr, co-winners in 2003 for Everything is Illuminated and The Shell Collector, respectively; Colson Whitehead, who won in 2002 for John Henry Days; and Mark Danielewski who won for House of Leaves in 2001. Young Lions committee members Rick Moody, Hannah Griswold McFarland, 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. Nominations for the 2006 award are now being accepted. Award nomination guidelines and entry forms are available here, or by calling (212) 930-0670. Submissions for books published in 2005 will be accepted through August 1, 2005. About the Young Lions ### Press Contact: Tim Farrell or Herb Scher 212.704.8600
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