The University of Wyoming’s own Nina McConigley was awarded the International Pen Book Award this July.
She won this award on her collection of short stories titled “Cowboys and East Indians” that is set in Wyoming, talks about the immigrant experience and the impact it has on other American West cultures. Her inspiration came from much of her time growing up in Wyoming.
“Growing up in Wyoming has always given me inspiration–the landscape itself for me is a character in my books. But also, growing up and not seeing a reflection of myself has made me an observer in many ways,” said UW’s award winning English professor. “I think many writers feel like they are outsiders to some degree, and I took a lot of my observations and feelings and used it into my writing.”
International PEN, the worldwide association of writers, was founded in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual cooperation among writers everywhere; to emphasize literature’s role in developing mutual understanding and world culture. PEN American Center’s Open Book Committee, a group committed to racial and ethnic diversity within the literary and publishing communities, created the PEN Open Book Award.
The PEN Open Book Judging committee had the following citation of Nina McConigley’s “Cowboys and East Indians.”
“In Cowboys and East Indians, Nina McConigley gives us Wyoming precisely the way we expect it—in landscape, sky, and animal life—and in ways we don’t. The inhabitants of this surprising, thrilling, and richly textured short story collection are unpredictable, both in their actions and identities. In these stories, McConigley has shaped a work destined to be a classic. Its characters—Indians in America, Americans in India, and Indian-Americans in both places—echo Vonnegut’s statement that ‘Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can’t see from the center.’ It’s electrifying to be out on the edge with this book,” said the judges citation about the book on the pen.org website.
Her work was submitted along with various other pieces of literature from a host of other authors. “Other people on the short-list have been nominated for the Booker Prize and won Guggenheims, so it was amazing company. I honestly did not think I would win. Just making the short-list and long-list seemed pretty great,” said McConigley
Her collection of short stories was published by a small press operation called Five Chapters.
“Since my book is with a small press, it feels amazing to have it be recognized by PEN, an organization that does such extraordinary work with literature around the world,” said McConigley. “Winning the award is lovely, but seeing the book get a new life and readers because of the award is fantastic. I am deeply grateful.”
She was selected as one of two winners for the 2014 Pen Open Book Award. The winners will be honored at the Literary Awards Ceremony Monday, Sept. 29, at The New School’s Auditorium in New York City.
Award aside, McConigley confessed to not being good at giving advice.
“I do think as clichéd as it sounds, one must keep writing and working,” said McConigley. “Publication is nice, but I always feel like if I don’t write, I don’t know how to make sense of the world. So just do the work would be my only advice.”
