Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 13 (1987) Winner
Gail Godwin
ゲイル・ゴドウィン
Geiru Godowin
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- 1937-06-18 （Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.）
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Religion
- Episcopal (Anglican)
- Residence History
- Asheville, North Carolina (raised) → London, England (1961–1965) → Stone Ridge / Woodstock, New York (residence) → Iowa City (graduate study and teaching)
Career
- Occupations
- novelist, short story writer, teacher, essayist
- Active Years
- 1969-
- Affiliations
- University of Iowa (teaching; graduate study), Yaddo artists' colony, Vassar College (visiting lecturer), Columbia University (lecturer), St. Hilda's Press (founder)
- Influenced By
- Kurt Vonnegut
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peace College (William Peace University) | — | — | — | 1955–1957 | United States |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | — | Journalism | Bachelor of Arts | 1957–1959 | United States |
| University of Iowa | — | English Literature | MA / PhD | 1967–1971 | United States |
Peace College (William Peace University)
Period:
1955–1957
Country:
United States
Transferred before degree completion
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Journalism
Degree:
Bachelor of Arts
Period:
1957–1959
Year of Graduation:
1959
Country:
United States
BA in Journalism
University of Iowa
English Literature
Degree:
MA / PhD
Period:
1967–1971
Year of Graduation:
1971
Country:
United States
Attended Iowa Writers' Workshop; MA (1968) and PhD (1971)
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | National Book Award (finalist) | — | — | National Book Foundation | Finalist |
| — | National Book Award (finalist) | — | — | National Book Foundation | Finalist |
| — | National Book Award (finalist) | — | — | National Book Foundation | Finalist |
| 1987 | Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize | A Southern Family | — | University of Rochester (awarding body) | Winner |
| 1975 | National Endowment for the Arts (grant) | — | — | National Endowment for the Arts | Grant |
| 1975 | John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation | — | — | John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation | Fellowship |
National Book Award (finalist)
Organization:
National Book Foundation
Result:
Finalist
National Book Award (finalist)
Organization:
National Book Foundation
Result:
Finalist
National Book Award (finalist)
Organization:
National Book Foundation
Result:
Finalist
Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize
1987
Work:
A Southern Family
Organization:
University of Rochester (awarding body)
Result:
Winner
National Endowment for the Arts (grant)
1975
Organization:
National Endowment for the Arts
Result:
Grant
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
1975
Organization:
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result:
Fellowship
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
The Perfectionists
1970 Fiction (realist novel)Her dissertation-turned-first-novel; a study of relationships and a young woman's search for identity.
self-identitywomen's independencefamily relationships
A Mother and Two Daughters
1982 FictionA multi-perspective family novel addressing women's independence, generational conflict, and Southern social issues.
mother-daughter relationshipswomen's independenceSouthern society
A Southern Family
1987 FictionA novel set in the South that interweaves issues of generation, class, and race; one of Godwin's notable works.
Southern traditionclassracial issues
Flora
2013 Historical fiction / family novelSet in the 1940s Southern mountains; follows a widowed schoolmaster and his daughter's coming-of-age.
coming-of-agefamilySouthern landscape
Bibliography
- The Perfectionists (1970)
- Glass People (1972)
- The Odd Woman (1974)
- Dream Children (1976)
- Violet Clay (1978)
- A Mother and Two Daughters (1982)
- Mr. Bedford and the Muses (1983)
- The Finishing School (1984)
- A Southern Family (1987)
- Father Melancholy's Daughter (1991)
- The Good Husband (1994)
- Evenings at Five (2003)
- Queen of the Underworld (2006)
- Unfinished Desires (2009)
- Flora (2013)
- Grief Cottage (2017)
- Old Lovegood Girls (2020)
- Being on Everybody's Side (1979)
- Becoming a Writer (1980)
- Publishing: A Writer's Memoir (2015)
- Getting to Know Death (2024)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- realist prosepsychological interiority and character developmentuse of multiple perspectives and interwoven timelines
- Recurring Motifs
- mother-daughter relationshipsself-discovery and coming-of-age (Bildungsroman)Southern settings and traditionreligion and faith
Legacy
Godwin is an American novelist active from the late 20th century into the 21st who gained recognition for novels about women's self-discovery and Southern society. She achieved both commercial success and scholarly attention, including multiple National Book Award finalist placements and the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize.
Archives
- University of Iowa Special Collections (possible holdings)
- University of North Carolina archives (possible holdings)
Quotes
-
The prose was the easy part.
Source: Gail Godwin (from interviews / memoir context) (2015)
Trivia
- She had a long partnership with composer Robert Starer and wrote libretti for ten of his compositions.
- A Mother and Two Daughters became one of her best-selling novels, reportedly selling over 1.5 million copies.