Young Lions Devour Literature
Friday March 20, 2009 | Contributor: Jennifer Wright

Notables from the world of literature and theater gathered at the New York Public Library for the annual Young Lions Fiction Award ceremony. Nominees this year included John Fasman, Rivka Galchen, Sana Krasikov, Zachary Mason and, the ultimate winner, Salvatore Scibona.



While the $10,000 prize was given to Salvatore Scibona, hopefully (as they say on every awards show) each nominee felt like a winner. Certainly, they had the support of the Young Lions, but also the backing of notable members of the acting community, including Ethan Hawke and Billy Crudup who took turns reading passages from the authors’ books throughout the ceremony. Ethan Hawke mentioned that he was so pleased to have Billy helping him present, as he’d loved working with him in The Coast of Utopia. He recalled that one of them had won a Tony for the performance, though he couldn’t remember the lucky fellow. (It was Billy, as many audience members were quick to yell out.)



While Billy Crudup’s participation was unexpected, no one was particularly surprised to see Ethan Hawke. After all, he’s not only on the Young Lions committee but also the founder of the Young Lions Fiction Award – in cooperation with Rick Moody, Hannah Griswold McFarland and Jennifer Randolph Walsh.  Ethan gave a lovely speech talking about how important he felt the award was, not just from a financial standpoint, but to spiritually bolster young authors and show them that there are people who truly appreciate their work.



Library President Dr. Paul LeClerc announced the winner, after taking time to sincerely thank the committee. He proudly mentioned that the library had seen a rapid upswing in the number of visitors in the past few years, noting that Barnes and Noble and Borders were having some problems, perhaps, as the guest next to me remarked, a little too gleefully.



While I was delighted that Salvatore Scibona won for his novel The End which details the inner lives of immigrants as set at a Midwestern carnival in 1953, my favorite candidate was The Lost Books of the Odyssey by Zachary Mason. It’s the kind of book that today would be considered a classic - if only it had been written 2000 years ago. The style perfectly mimics the structure of Ancient Greek poems and is intended to serve as a continuation of the Odyssey. (Often the stories are from the viewpoints of marginal characters in the original.) It would make a great, thoroughly readable gift for any history buff or classicist.



But then, really, I appreciated all the books and their authors. I was delighted to see Rivka Galchen. She gave a wonderful talk earlier this year at a cocktail party organized by Jadrien Steele about the influence of Thomas Pynchon upon her novel, Atmospheric Disturbances.  I was also so pleased when a portion from Sana Krasikov’s collection of short stories One More Year was read. All these short stories are set immediately after the collapse of Soviet Russia; “The Companion” details a middle aged Russian woman living in America and being disastrously set up on blind dates. I love books like this, because they feel like you’re reading silly, fun chick-lit, but have very serious covers, and you can tell everyone you’re reading a book about the problems ordinary people faced after the fall of communism.



Ultimately, everyone who attended the ceremony felt they’d won something, whether that was the prize itself, the respect of their peers, or simply the opportunity to watch Ethan Hawke crack jokes. It combined to make for a splendid – and literary! – evening.