Kiriyama Prize
1 appearances
Peter Hessler
ピーター・ヘスラー
Peter Hessler
Pen Names:
He Wei（Pen name used in China）
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1969-06-14 （Columbia, Missouri, United States）
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English, Chinese (Mandarin), Egyptian Arabic
- Residence History
- Columbia, Missouri, United States → Fuling/Chongqing, China → Ridgway, Colorado, United States → Cairo, Egypt → Chengdu, China
Career
- Occupations
- Writer, Journalist, Runner, Instructor
- Active Years
- 1992-
- Affiliations
- The New Yorker (staff writer / foreign correspondent), , Sichuan University — Pittsburgh Institute (visiting/adjunct instructor), Peace Corps (former volunteer)
- Influenced By
- John McPhee
- Nominations
- National Book Award (Nonfiction) 2006 (finalist)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Princeton University | — | English | A.B.（英文学） | 1988–1992 | United States |
| Mansfield College, University of Oxford | — | English language and literature | — | 1992– | United Kingdom |
Princeton University
English
Degree:
A.B.（英文学）
Period:
1988–1992
Year of Graduation:
1992
Country:
United States
Senior thesis 'Dead Man's Shoes and Other Stories'. Studied in John McPhee's writing seminar.
Mansfield College, University of Oxford
English language and literature
Period:
1992–
Country:
United Kingdom
Attended as a Rhodes Scholar.
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | MacArthur Fellowship | — | — | John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation | 受賞 |
| — | Kiriyama Prize | River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze | — | Kiriyama Prize | 受賞 |
| 2006 | National Book Award for Nonfiction | Oracle Bones | — | National Book Foundation | ノミネート（最終候補） |
MacArthur Fellowship
2011
Organization:
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Result:
受賞
Kiriyama Prize
Work:
River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze
Organization:
Kiriyama Prize
Result:
受賞
National Book Award for Nonfiction
2006
Work:
Oracle Bones
Organization:
National Book Foundation
Result:
ノミネート（最終候補）
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze
2001 Nonfiction / MemoirA memoir of two years teaching in a small Chinese city as a Peace Corps volunteer, detailing everyday life and social change along the Yangtze.
Cross-cultural perspectiveEveryday life and changeEducation and community
Oracle Bones: A Journey Through Time in China
2006 Nonfiction / ReportingWeaves parallel narratives—former students, a Uyghur dissident, and historical figures—to explore China's past and present.
Memory and historyIndividual storiesTransformations of modern China
Country Driving: A Journey from Farm to Factory
2010 Nonfiction / TravelRecords journeys across China by rented car, documenting how rapid economic growth reshaped rural and industrial life.
Economic development and social changeMobility and urbanizationLabor and everyday life
Strange Stones: Dispatches from East and West
2013 Essays / NonfictionA collection of essays drawn from long-term reporting in East and West, probing cultural and historical themes through personal stories.
Reporting notesCultural comparisonIndividual perspective
The Buried: An Archaeology of the Egyptian Revolution
2019 Nonfiction / Contemporary historyBased on experiences in Egypt during the Arab Spring, this work explores the layers and memories of revolution.
Revolution and memoryLocal historyStories of citizens
Bibliography
- River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze
- Oracle Bones: A Journey Through Time in China
- Country Driving: A Journey from Farm to Factory
- Strange Stones: Dispatches from East and West
- The Buried: An Archaeology of the Egyptian Revolution
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Observational nonfiction grounded in field reportingLayered narrative of individual storiesConcise, descriptive prose
- Recurring Motifs
- Lives of ordinary peopleRapid social changeIntersection of memory and history
Legacy
Internationally recognized for long-form reporting on China and the Middle East, portraying large social changes through ordinary lives. Winner of a MacArthur Fellowship and influential in place-based nonfiction reporting.
Academic Societies
- Society for Applied Anthropology (has published work)
Quotes
-
"Keenly observed accounts of ordinary people responding to the complexities of life in such rapidly changing societies as Reform Era China."
Source: MacArthur Foundation citation (2011) (2011)
Trivia
- Known in China by the pen name 'He Wei' (何伟).
- Married to journalist Leslie T. Chang; has twin daughters.
- Served in the Peace Corps and taught in China beginning in 1996.
- Moved to Chengdu with his family in 2019 and taught at Sichuan University–Pittsburgh Institute; contract was not renewed.