PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel
1 appearances
-
Edition 32 (2007) Winner
Ben Fountain
ベン・ファウンテン
Ben Fountain
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1958-01-01 （Chapel Hill, North Carolina, U.S.）
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Elizabeth City, North Carolina → Cary, North Carolina → New Bern, North Carolina
Career
- Occupations
- Writer
- Active Years
- 1988-
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | — | English | B.A. | 1976–1980 | United States |
| Duke University School of Law | — | Law | J.D. | 1980–1983 | United States |
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
English
Degree:
B.A.
Period:
1976–1980
Year of Graduation:
1980
Country:
United States
Duke University School of Law
Law
Degree:
J.D.
Period:
1980–1983
Year of Graduation:
1983
Country:
United States
Briefly practiced law after graduation
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | PEN/Hemingway Award | Brief Encounters with Che Guevara | — | Hemingway Foundation / PEN | winner |
| 2012 | National Book Critics Circle Award (Fiction) | Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk | fiction | National Book Critics Circle | winner |
| 2007 | Whiting Award | — | — | Whiting Foundation | winner |
| 2004 | Pushcart Prize | — | — | Pushcart Press | winner |
| 2005 | O. Henry Award | — | — | O. Henry Prize Stories | winner |
| 2006 | Barnes & Noble Discover Award for Fiction | Brief Encounters with Che Guevara | fiction | Barnes & Noble | winner |
| 2012 | Center for Fiction First Novel Prize | Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk | — | Center for Fiction | winner |
| 2012 | Goodreads Choice Awards (Fiction) | Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk | fiction | Goodreads | finalist |
| 2012 | Los Angeles Times Book Prize (Fiction) | Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk | fiction | Los Angeles Times | finalist |
| 2012 | National Book Award (Fiction) | Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk | fiction | National Book Foundation | finalist |
| 2012 | Specsavers National Book Awards (International Author of the Year) | Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk | International Author of the Year | British Book Awards | shortlist |
| 2013 | Chautauqua Prize | Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk | — | Chautauqua Institution | shortlist |
| 2013 | Dayton Literary Peace Prize (Fiction) | Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk | fiction | Dayton Literary Peace Prize | runner-up |
| 2003 | Texas Institute of Letters Short Story Award | — | — | Texas Institute of Letters | winner |
PEN/Hemingway Award
2007
Work:
Brief Encounters with Che Guevara
Organization:
Hemingway Foundation / PEN
Result:
winner
National Book Critics Circle Award (Fiction)
2012
Work:
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk
Category:
fiction
Organization:
National Book Critics Circle
Result:
winner
Whiting Award
2007
Organization:
Whiting Foundation
Result:
winner
Pushcart Prize
2004
Organization:
Pushcart Press
Result:
winner
O. Henry Award
2005
Organization:
O. Henry Prize Stories
Result:
winner
Barnes & Noble Discover Award for Fiction
2006
Work:
Brief Encounters with Che Guevara
Category:
fiction
Organization:
Barnes & Noble
Result:
winner
Center for Fiction First Novel Prize
2012
Work:
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk
Organization:
Center for Fiction
Result:
winner
Goodreads Choice Awards (Fiction)
2012
Work:
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk
Category:
fiction
Organization:
Goodreads
Result:
finalist
Los Angeles Times Book Prize (Fiction)
2012
Work:
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk
Category:
fiction
Organization:
Los Angeles Times
Result:
finalist
National Book Award (Fiction)
2012
Work:
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk
Category:
fiction
Organization:
National Book Foundation
Result:
finalist
Specsavers National Book Awards (International Author of the Year)
2012
Work:
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk
Category:
International Author of the Year
Organization:
British Book Awards
Result:
shortlist
Chautauqua Prize
2013
Work:
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk
Organization:
Chautauqua Institution
Result:
shortlist
Dayton Literary Peace Prize (Fiction)
2013
Work:
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk
Category:
fiction
Organization:
Dayton Literary Peace Prize
Result:
runner-up
Texas Institute of Letters Short Story Award
2003
Organization:
Texas Institute of Letters
Result:
winner
Awards & Nominations
Whiting Awards
1 appearances
-
Edition 23 (2007) Winner
Center for Fiction First Novel Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 7 (2012) Winner
Los Angeles Times Book Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 33 (2012) Winner
Works
Major Works
Brief Encounters with Che Guevara
2006 Short story collectionA collection of short stories including pieces inspired by Haiti and other settings, addressing power, colonialism, and social absurdities.
powercolonialismsocial alienation
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk
2012 NovelFollows Billy Lynn and his squad during a single day back home after combat in Iraq, examining war and contradictions in American society.
the realities of warmedia and consumer culturehonor and illusion
Adaptations
- [Film] Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk / Ang Lee (2016)
Beautiful Country Burn Again
2018 Short story collectionA collection of short stories that examines American society, depicting national anxieties and individual struggles.
American social issuesfamilyviolence
Devil Makes Three
2023 Novel(Summary not available)
Bibliography
- Brief Encounters with Che Guevara (2006)
- Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (2012)
- Beautiful Country Burn Again (2018)
- Devil Makes Three (2023)
Adaptations
- Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk — directed by Ang Lee (2016)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- satiricalblack humorrealist prose with detailed description
- Recurring Motifs
- war and its aftermathcontradictions of American societypower and its violence
Legacy
Regarded for his sharp and often humorous examinations of war and American society. Recognized in both short fiction and novels, with awards and film adaptation extending his influence.
In Popular Culture
- Film adaptation of Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (dir. Ang Lee, 2016)
Quotes
-
Haiti is like a laboratory, almost... Everything that’s gone on in the last five hundred years—colonialism, race, power, politics, ecological disasters — it’s all there in very concentrated form.
Source: The New Yorker (interview) (2008)
Trivia
- Met Sharon Monahan at Duke University School of Law and married in 1985.
- Briefly practiced real estate law at Akin Gump in Dallas before leaving in 1988 to write full time.
- His novel Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk was adapted into a film directed by Ang Lee.