Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize
The Kafka Prize Winner for Fiction Published in 2023
We are thrilled to announce that this year's recipient of the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize for Fiction is Ye Chun, for the novel Straw Dogs of the Universe (Catapult, 2023)!
Ye will be visiting the University of Rochester on October 25, 2024 to read from her prize-winning novel. Join us for the reading, enjoy food and wine, and purchase a copy of the winning book.
From the Kafka Committee:
Ye Chun's Straw Dogs of the Universe is a compelling historical narrative and a rich migration story that spans generations and intricately weaves together individual lives in 19th-century California. The novel follows poignant characters like 10-year-old Sixiang, sold to a human trafficker after a famine devastates her village in China, and who later travels across an unfamiliar landscape as she hopes to reunite her family. Ye explores the experiences of Chinese immigrants in the American West as they face the challenges of building railroads and adapting to a new life, offering an unforgettable portrait that reflects on themes of resilience, identity, and family.
Read more about Ye's novel here.
About the Kafka Prize
Since 1976, the Susan B. Anthony Institute for Gender and Women's Studies and the Department of English at the University of Rochester have awarded the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize for fiction by an American woman. The idea for the prize came out of the personal grief of the friends and family of a fine young editor who was killed in an automobile accident just as her career was beginning to achieve its promise of excellence. She was 30 years old, and those who knew her believed she would do much to further the causes of literature and women. Her family, her friends, and her professional associates in the publishing industry created the endowment from which the prize is bestowed, in memory of Janet Heidinger Kafka and the literary standards and personal ideals for which she stood.
Each year a substantial cash prize is awarded annually to a woman and who has written the best book-length work of prose fiction, whether novel, short stories, or experimental writing. We are particularly interested in calling attention to the work of a promising but less established writer.
The Kafka Prize selection committee
- Eileen Daly-Boas, University of Rochester Library
- Beth Jörgensen, Modern Languages and Cultures
- Rachel O'Donnell, Writing, Speaking, and Argument Program
- Chad Post, Open Letter Books
- Laura Whitebell, Writing, Speaking, and Argument Program