PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel
1 appearances
-
Edition 8 (1983) Winner
Bobbie Ann Mason
ボビー・アン・メイソン
Bobbie Ann Mason
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- 1940-05-01 （Mayfield, Kentucky, United States）
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Mayfield, Kentucky (childhood) → New York City (early career, magazine work) → Lexington, Kentucky (residence / academic affiliation)
Career
- Occupations
- novelist, short story writer, essayist, literary critic, academic / teacher
- Active Years
- 1974-
- Affiliations
- Mansfield State College (taught there), University of Kentucky (writer in residence, until 2011)
- Influenced By
- Vladimir Nabokov, American regional realist writers
- Influenced
- later writers from Kentucky and Appalachian/region-focused authors, writers associated with so-called 'shopping mall realism'
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Kentucky | College of Arts and Sciences | English | BA | 1958–1962 | United States |
| Binghamton University (SUNY) | — | English | MA | 1964–1966 | United States |
| University of Connecticut | — | English Literature | PhD | 1968–1972 | United States |
University of Kentucky
College of Arts and Sciences
/ English
Degree:
BA
Period:
1958–1962
Year of Graduation:
1962
Country:
United States
Binghamton University (SUNY)
English
Degree:
MA
Period:
1964–1966
Year of Graduation:
1966
Country:
United States
University of Connecticut
English Literature
Degree:
PhD
Period:
1968–1972
Year of Graduation:
1972
Country:
United States
Doctoral dissertation on Vladimir Nabokov's Ada
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | PEN/Hemingway Award | Shiloh and Other Stories | — | PEN America | 受賞 |
| 1983 | National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship | — | — | National Endowment for the Arts | 受賞 / 助成 |
| 1984 | Guggenheim Fellowship | — | — | John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation | 受賞 |
| 1983 | Pennsylvania Arts Council grant | — | — | Pennsylvania Arts Council | 助成 |
| 1989 | Pennsylvania Arts Council grant | — | — | Pennsylvania Arts Council | 助成 |
| 2012 | Kentucky Governor's Award in the Arts | — | — | Commonwealth of Kentucky | 受賞 |
| 2004 | Kentucky Literary Award | — | — | Kentucky literary organizations | 受賞 |
| 2012 | Kentucky Literary Award | — | — | Kentucky literary organizations | 受賞 |
PEN/Hemingway Award
1983
Work:
Shiloh and Other Stories
Organization:
PEN America
Result:
受賞
National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship
1983
Organization:
National Endowment for the Arts
Result:
受賞 / 助成
Guggenheim Fellowship
1984
Organization:
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result:
受賞
Pennsylvania Arts Council grant
1983
Organization:
Pennsylvania Arts Council
Result:
助成
Pennsylvania Arts Council grant
1989
Organization:
Pennsylvania Arts Council
Result:
助成
Kentucky Governor's Award in the Arts
2012
Organization:
Commonwealth of Kentucky
Result:
受賞
Kentucky Literary Award
2004
Organization:
Kentucky literary organizations
Result:
受賞
Kentucky Literary Award
2012
Organization:
Kentucky literary organizations
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Nabokov's Garden: A Guide to Ada
1974 literary criticism 160 pagesA critical study based on Mason's dissertation on Nabokov's Ada, analyzing themes and structure of the novel.
Nabokov studiestextual analysis
Shiloh and Other Stories
1982 short story collection / regional fiction 192 pagesA collection of short stories set in small-town Kentucky, depicting working-class people, family dynamics, and shifting consumer culture.
regional identityfamilyconsumer culture
In Country
1985 novel 240 pagesA novel addressing the Vietnam War and its aftermath, generational disconnect, and memory. The protagonist confronts family impacts of the war.
Vietnam Warmemoryintergenerational conflict
Adaptations
- [film] In Country / Norman Jewison (1989)
Clear Springs: A Memoir
1999 memoir 224 pagesA memoir reflecting on childhood, family, and life in hometown Kentucky, intertwining personal memory and regional history.
remembrancefamily historyhome
The Girl in the Blue Beret
2011 novel 256 pagesA novel dealing with memories of World War II and postwar change, exploring intersections between personal history and larger historical events.
memoryhistory and the individualpostwar society
Bibliography
- Nabokov's Garden: A Guide to Ada (1974)
- The Girl Sleuth: A Feminist Guide to the Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, and Their Sisters (1975)
- Shiloh and Other Stories (1982)
- In Country (1985)
- Spence + Lila (1988)
- Love Life (1989)
- Clear Springs: A Memoir (1999)
- The Girl in the Blue Beret (2011)
- Dear Ann (2020)
Adaptations
- Film 'In Country' (adapted from In Country, 1989)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- so-called 'shopping mall realism'—depicting consumer cultureregionalist realismconcise, observational prose
- Recurring Motifs
- small-town Kentuckyfamily and everyday lifeconsumer culture and modernizationmemory and effects of war
Legacy
Bobbie Ann Mason is known for portraying small-town Kentucky and working-class life in her short stories and novels, contributing to a revival of American regional fiction since the 1980s. She was inducted into the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame as the second living author, reflecting her significance to regional literature.
Academic Societies
- Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame
In Popular Culture
- The novel 'In Country' was adapted into a film (1989), bringing wider public attention to her work.
Quotes
-
"It took me a long time to discover my material. It wasn't a matter of developing writing skills, it was a matter of knowing how to see things."
Source: Interview (Pif Magazine and other sources) (2012)
Trivia
- Won the PEN/Hemingway Award in 1983 for 'Shiloh and Other Stories'.
- First published in The New Yorker in 1980 (short story), which brought attention to her fiction.
- Her doctoral dissertation on Nabokov's 'Ada' was published as 'Nabokov's Garden'.
- The film adaptation of 'In Country' (1989) starred Bruce Willis and Emily Lloyd.