André Alexis has won the Story Prize, given annually to an outstanding collection of short fiction, for Other Worlds.
Alexis’ book, published last May by FSG Originals, is a multigenre collection that explores themes of confusion and alienation. The book was longlisted for the Giller Prize and was a finalist for the Toronto Book Award.
The judges for the award, authors Benjamin Dreyer and Ling Ma and librarian Stephen Sposato, said in a citation, “Other Worlds so seamlessly traverses the boundaries of time, of nationality, and of genre that such boundaries seem diaphanous. This fleet-footed collection is both rooted in oral and literary traditions and yet entirely contemporary. Being many things at once, full of sly innovations, and quietly upending conventions, Other Worlds is wholly original and wholly itself.”
The runners-up for the prize were Lydia Millet for Atavists and Ayşegül Savaş for Long Distance.
The Story Prize, which comes with a cash award of $20,000, was established in 2004. Previous winners include Edwidge Danticat for The Dew Breaker and Everything Inside; Jim Shepard for Like You’d Understand, Anyway; Claire Vaye Watkins for Battleborn; and Deesha Philyaw for The Secret Lives of Church Ladies.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
