Annie Proulx is adding yet another major accomplishment to her storied CV. The Pulitzer and PEN/Faulkner award-winning author will be presented with the National Book Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, The Guardian reports. The prestigious prize recognizes a lifetime of literary achievement.
“Authors are put forward for the $10,000 honor by U.S. literary experts, with the National Book Foundation’s board of directors making the final choice,” the source explains.
A number of Proulx’s works have inspired big-screen projects. Cowboy romance “Brokeback Mountain” was based on a Proulx’s short story of the same name in her collection “Close Range.” Her novel “The Shipping News” was adapted into a drama starring Kevin Spacey, Judi Dench, and Julianne Moore.
“I hope that it is going to start conversations and discussions, that it’s going to awaken in people an empathy for diversity, for each other and the larger world,” Proulx said when “Brokeback Mountain” was released in 2005. “I’m really hoping that the idea of tolerance will come through discussions about the film. People tend to walk out of the theater with a sense of compassion, which I think is very fine. It is a love story. It has been called both universal and specific, and I think that’s true. It’s an old, old story. We’ve heard this story a million times; we just haven’t heard it quite with this cast,” she observed.
Lisa Lucas, the National Book Foundation’s executive director, praised Proulx’s “ability to explore the nuances of the human spirit and render deeply moving reflections on rural life.”
The org’s Chair, David Steinberger, described Proulx’s works as “widely loved and uniquely significant,” and celebrated “her commitment to crafting compassionate, honest stories [that have] left an indelible mark on literature and created a powerful and enduring legacy.”
Proulx will accept the medal this fall. Previous recipients of the honor include Joan Didion, Judy Blume, and Toni Morrison.
