On Monday, May 15, the American Academy in Berlin announced the recipients of the prestigious 2023-2024 Berlin Prizes, among whom writer and School of Critical Studies faculty Brian Evenson was named a fall 2023 fellow.
Administered by the American Academy in Berlin, the Berlin Prize is annually awarded to around two dozen recipients for the fall and spring semesters. The prize recognizes American or US-based artists, scholars, composers, and writers representing excellence across creative fields, the humanities, public policy, and more. Awardees, who are selected by an independent selection committee, are offered time and resources to advance their scholarly and artistic projects “free from the constraints of other professional obligations.” Throughout the semester, fellows work with Berlin-based peers and institutions within the Academy’s network, and present performances, lectures, and readings to German audiences.
Evenson joins the 26 total fellows selected for both the fall and spring semesters. More about Evenson’s fellowship project from the American Academy in Berlin’s official announcement:
Evenson’s Academy book project, “Handbook for a Future Revolution,” expands on the investigation of schizophrenia, violence, and religion found in his 2005 novel The Open Curtain, exploring the collision of Mormon ideas and ideals with European culture.
Evenson, who also writes under nom de plume B.K. Evenson, is the author of more than a dozen works of fiction, including The Warren (2016), Windeye (2012), Last Days (2009), A Collapse of Horses (2015), and Ed Vs. Yummy Fur: Or What Happens When a Serial Comic Becomes a Graphic Novel (2014). He is also the recipient of three O. Henry Prizes, the 2006 International Horror Guild Award, and a National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship. His short story collection Song for the Unraveling of the World won the 2019 Shirley Jackson Award and a coveted starred advanced review from Publisher’s Weekly.
