American Book Awards
1 appearances
-
Edition 38 (2017) Winner
Marc Anthony Richardson
マーク・アンソニー・リチャードソン
Marc Anthony Richardson
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1972-12-07 （Elkins Park, Pennsylvania）
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- West Oak Lane, Philadelphia → Elkins Park, Pennsylvania (birthplace) → Bay Area, California → New York City → Makhanda, South Africa (Rhodes residency) → Stony Brook, New York (teaching)
Career
- Occupations
- novelist, artist, academic, social service counselor, illustrator
- Active Years
- 1991-
- Affiliations
- Rutgers University–New Brunswick (teaching), University of Pennsylvania (teaching), Stony Brook University (current)
- Influenced By
- Marita Golden, Micheline Aharonian Marcom
- Nominations
- Big Other Book Award (fiction) finalist (Messiahs)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts | — | — | High School Diploma | — | United States |
| Antioch College | — | — | BFA | — | United States |
| Mills College | — | — | MFA | — | United States |
| Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (brief study on partial scholarship) | — | — | — | — | United States |
Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts
Degree:
High School Diploma
Year of Graduation:
1991
Country:
United States
Won awards for illustration while attending
Antioch College
Degree:
BFA
Country:
United States
Studied with Marita Golden; finalist for 1994 Hurston/Wright Award for College Writers
Mills College
Degree:
MFA
Country:
United States
Studied with Micheline Aharonian Marcom; nominee for Best New American Voice 2010
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (brief study on partial scholarship)
Country:
United States
Studied classical drawing, painting, and printmaking briefly; returned to writing due to lack of funding
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Ronald Sukenick Innovative Fiction Prize | Year of the Rat | — | Fiction Collective Two | 受賞 |
| 2017 | American Book Award | Year of the Rat | — | Before Columbus Foundation | 受賞 |
| 2021 | Creative Capital Award | The Serpent Will Eat Whatever Is in the Belly of the Beast (work-in-progress) | — | Creative Capital | 受賞 |
| 2021 | Sachs Program Grant for Arts Innovation | The Serpent Will Eat Whatever Is in the Belly of the Beast (work-in-progress) | — | Sachs Program for Arts Innovation | 受賞 |
| 2022 | Andrew W. Mellon Scholar-in-Residence | — | — | Rhodes University | 受賞 |
| 2023 | Art Omi: May Writers Cohort | — | — | Art Omi | 参加/受賞 |
| 2024 | CSREA Artist Practitioner Fellowship | — | — | Brown University | 受賞 |
Ronald Sukenick Innovative Fiction Prize
2015
Work:
Year of the Rat
Organization:
Fiction Collective Two
Result:
受賞
American Book Award
2017
Work:
Year of the Rat
Organization:
Before Columbus Foundation
Result:
受賞
Creative Capital Award
2021
Work:
The Serpent Will Eat Whatever Is in the Belly of the Beast (work-in-progress)
Organization:
Creative Capital
Result:
受賞
Sachs Program Grant for Arts Innovation
2021
Work:
The Serpent Will Eat Whatever Is in the Belly of the Beast (work-in-progress)
Organization:
Sachs Program for Arts Innovation
Result:
受賞
Andrew W. Mellon Scholar-in-Residence
2022
Organization:
Rhodes University
Result:
受賞
Art Omi: May Writers Cohort
2023
Organization:
Art Omi
Result:
参加/受賞
CSREA Artist Practitioner Fellowship
2024
Organization:
Brown University
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Year of the Rat
2016 Experimental literature / KünstlerromanA largely autobiographical, experimental novel mixing philosophical rants, poetic fragments, social satire, and phantasmagoric language. Many incidents are drawn from the author's and his family's lived experiences, including confrontations with death.
familyloss and deathidentityexperimental language
Messiahs
2021 Speculative fiction / DystopiaA speculative novel focusing on an anonymous Asian American woman and an African American man. It explores a dystopian society in which proxies are allowed on death row in place of convicted relatives, interrogating themes of race, redemption, and religious reform.
raceincarceration and punishmentatonementreligious imagery
The Serpent Will Eat Whatever Is in the Belly of the Beast (forthcoming)
Work-in-progress supported by Creative Capital and the Sachs Program for Arts Innovation.
Bibliography
- Year of the Rat (2016)
- Messiahs (2021)
- The Serpent Will Eat Whatever Is in the Belly of the Beast (forthcoming)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- experimental, fragmentary prosepoetic and phantasmagoric languagesocially satirical narration
- Recurring Motifs
- family traumalife and deathreligious imageryurban communities
Legacy
Marc Anthony Richardson is a contemporary American writer noted for his experimental and provocative style. Drawing on years of direct-care work and varied artistic practice, his work brings distinctive perspectives to themes of race, community, and grief. His awards and academic roles have made him a significant voice linking experimental literature and social issues.
Quotes
-
"This award supports the artists who work with no limitations in mind, no allegiances — whose diverse experiences require divergent formats."
Source: Penn Today (article) (2020)
Trivia
- Debut novel Year of the Rat won the 2015 Ronald Sukenick Innovative Fiction Prize and the 2017 American Book Award.
- Worked as an illustrator and briefly as a nude model; long history of direct-care social service work with disadvantaged youth and adults with intellectual disabilities.