{"id":2457186,"date":"2020-04-15T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-15T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/?p=324310"},"modified":"2020-04-15T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2020-04-15T06:00:00","slug":"a-virtual-celebration-of-books-that-matter-with-the-aspen-words-literary-prize","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/a-virtual-celebration-of-books-that-matter-with-the-aspen-words-literary-prize\/","title":{"rendered":"A virtual celebration of books that matter with the Aspen Words Literary Prize"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image p402_hide\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/wordsprize-atd-022020-1-1024x682.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/wordsprize-atd-022020-1-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/wordsprize-atd-022020-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/wordsprize-atd-022020-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/wordsprize-atd-022020-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/wordsprize-atd-022020-1-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Rather than in the august halls of the Morgan Library in Manhattan, the Aspen Words Literary Prize will announce its winner Thursday afternoon in the only public space where anyone does just about anything these days: online video conference.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">While literary events have been canceled around the world in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic and other major prizes and award ceremonies have postponed, the mission-driven Aspen Words honor \u2014 which gives $35,000 to the author of a work of fiction \u201cthat illuminates vital contemporary issues\u201d \u2014 is going online with a daylong celebration, culminating with the announcement of its winner.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Aspen Words is broadcasting free <a id=\"N0x1133fa0N0x1114d70:N0x1133fa0N0x1286220\" href=\"http:\/\/www.aspenwords.org\/programs\/literary-prize\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">virtual events beginning at 7:30 a.m.<\/a><i class=\"fas fa-external-link-alt\"><\/i> Thursday, including interviews with the <a id=\"N0x1133fa0N0x1114dd0:N0x1133fa0N0x12862b0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/entertainment\/aspen-words-literary-prize-names-five-2020-finalists\/\">five finalists<\/a>: \u201cOpioid, Indiana\u201d author Brian Allen Carr, \u201cPatsy\u201d author Nicole Dennis-Benn, \u201cThe Beekeeper of Aleppo\u201d author Christy Lefteri, \u201cLost Children Archive\u201d author Valeria Luiselli and \u201cLot\u201d author Bryan Washington.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">They\u2019ll be interviewed by prize judges Alexander Chee, Amy Garmer and Esmeralda Santiago, followed by a conversation between Aspen Institute President Dan Porterfield and Aspen Words executive director Adrienne Brodeur about the role of literature during the pandemic.<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col\">\n<div class=\"row at-donation at-donation-mobile p-0\">\n<div class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AT-logo-white.png)\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center rocket-lazyload\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AT-logo-white.png\" class=\"logo m-0 p-0 invisible\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/at-banner-paypal.jpg)\" class=\"col-xl-8 p-3 text-center rocket-lazyload\">\n<h3 class=\"d-inline mr-3\">Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p><button class=\"btn d-inline\" type=\"button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/donate\/?utm_source=article&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_campaign=donation&amp;utm_term=&amp;utm_content=mid-article\">Donate<\/a><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Those video segments replace the planned finalists\u2019 panel that was to be led by NPR\u2019s Mary-Louise Kelly at the Morgan on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">So viewers will hear from all the finalists, there will be an announcement of the winner and an acceptance speech, but all will be connected across state and international borders to a potential global audience.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt has been a real jigsaw puzzle figuring out all those pieces,\u201d Brodeur said in a phone interview.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The Words team wanted to deliver the same level of conversation and honor each of the books as they would have with an in-person celebration, she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The Words staff and board made the decision to go virtual in mid-March as the outbreak hit Aspen, worsened around the U.S. and forced public health bans on large gatherings. It was <a id=\"N0x1133fa0N0x1114e30:N0x1133fa0N0x12866a0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/entertainment\/aspen-words-literary-prize-moved-online\/\">announced March 30<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThis seemed like the more viable solution for us,\u201d Brodeur explained. \u201cAnd we saw the potential for it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">While the annual prize celebration at the Morgan Library in New York can draw an audience of about 250 in person for the ceremony to rub elbows with the finalists and attracted a small online viewership last year, in this all-virtual moment it could touch readers from around the world, Brodeur noted.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cAs a virtual event, it has the potential to have a far broader reach than a traditional celebration,\u201d she added. \u201cVirtually we can amplify the reach of these five books, create discussions around their themes and build empathy around those. The goals of the prize remain the same: to draw attention to these books and the issues they explore.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Those social issues, rather than being overshadowed during the public health crisis, have all been thrust harshly into the limelight by COVID-19 \u2014 immigration, economic inequality, the refugee crisis, substance abuse and American racism among them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Endowed for Aspen Words by an anonymous donor, the award is in its third year. The previous winners were <a id=\"N0x1133fa0N0x1114e90:N0x1133fa0N0x1286a00\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/entertainment\/novelist-tayari-jones-on-her-aspen-words-literary-prize-winning-an-american-marriage\/\">Tayari Jones\u2019 \u201cAn American Marriage\u201d<\/a> last year and <a id=\"N0x1133fa0N0x1114ef0:N0x1133fa0N0x1286a90\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/entertainment\/novelist-mohsin-hamid-discusses-aspen-literary-prize-winning-exit-west\/\">Mohsin Hamid\u2019s \u201cExit West\u201d<\/a> in 2018.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">After Thursday\u2019s events, Aspen Words is moving forward with the spring and summer programming around the prize in Aspen, including a talk by the winner, a \u201ccommunity read\u201d and valleywide discussion groups hosted by the Pitkin County Library, and free copies for local readers. This year, some or all of the events may be virtual depending on how social-distancing guidelines evolve in the coming months.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The virtual events Thursday also offer the publishing world a moment to celebrate as it reels from the economic fallout from coronavirus. Major events from BookExpo and the Pulitzer Prize announcement have been canceled, online retailers have paused book sales, new releases (the paperback of <a id=\"N0x1133fa0N0x1114f50:N0x1133fa0N0x1286c40\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/wild-game-a-mother-daughter-memoir-by-aspen-words-adrienne-brodeur-to-be-published-this-week\/\">Brodeur\u2019s memoir \u201cWild Game\u201d<\/a> among them) have been postponed and bookstores are shuttered or doing phone-and-pickup service like Aspen\u2019s Explore Booksellers. So the daylong festivities are a welcome opportunity to toast writers and their ideas.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">While making the prize virtual, Aspen Words also canceled its annual Summer Words literary conference and festival, which hosts workshops with authors in Aspen in June. It is going virtual, as well. Aspen Words has not yet released details about Summer Words public events, which normally include daily author panels and talks as well as the nonprofit\u2019s annual fundraising benefit.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">While disrupting the world at large and the world of letters, Broedeur noted the public health crisis also has underscored why literature matters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cLiterature can be calming and reassuring and helps people put things in perspective,\u201d she said. \u201cIt can remind us of resilience in the past. I know I\u2019m reading more than I ever have.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Tagline\"><a href=\"mailto:atravers@aspentimes.com\">atravers@aspentimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/entertainment\/a-virtual-celebration-of-books-that-matter-with-the-aspen-words-literary-prize\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rather than in the august halls of the Morgan Library in Manhattan, the Aspen Words Literary Prize will announce its winner Thursday afternoon in the only public space where anyone does just about anything these days: online video conference. While literary events have been canceled around the world in the wake of the novel coronavirus [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2457186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-18 04:08:35","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2457186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2457186"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2457186\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2457186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2457186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2457186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}