The winners of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize for fiction and non-fiction have been announced and it was a big year for women writers.
Each year, Dayton Literary Peace Prizes are awarded to authors who’s stories center on peace, and social justice. Author Bob Shacochis will pick up the best fiction award for “The Woman Who Lost Her Soul.” It's a novel that ties together catastrophic events in four countries over a span of fifty years—leading to the U.S. war on terror.
But Sharon Rab, the peace prize founder and co-chair, says he's the only man taking home this year's prize.
“Four of our five winners are women and there are lots of connections between and among the books this year that I think will be fascinating for people to explore,” Rab said.
The best non-fiction award will go to Karima Bennoune for her book, "Your Fatwa Does Not Apply Here" in which Bennoune shares the stories ofMuslim writers, artists, activists, and others “who risk death to combat the rising tide of religious extremism in their own countries.”
Jo Roberts was named runner-up for nonfiction for her book “Contested Land, Contested Memory: Israel’s Jews and Arabs and the Ghosts of Catastrophe", while first-time novelist Margaret Wrinkle was named the fiction runner-up for “Wash.”
And in July, organizers announced that author Louise Erdrich will receive this year’s Richard C. Holbrooke Award for lifetime achievement.
All the winners will be honored at a ceremony hosted by award-winning journalist Nick Clooney in Dayton on Sunday, November 9th
