NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 Garth Greenwell's 鈥淪mall Rain,鈥 in which a poet falls ill and confronts mortality, the meaning of art and the failures of health care, won the PEN/Faulkner Award for fiction on Monday.
鈥淕arth Greenwell has wrought a narrative of illness and identity in visceral detail, conveyed with a precision of language that steals the breath,鈥 the judges' citation reads in part.
Greenwell's award includes a $15,000 cash prize. Finalists, each of whom receive $5,000, include 'Pemi Aguda for 鈥淕hostroots,鈥 Susan Muaddi Darraj for "Behind You Is the Sea," Percival Everett for 鈥淛ames鈥 and Danzy Senna for 鈥淐olored Television.鈥
Previous winners include Philip Roth, Ann Patchett and Yiyun Li.
The awards were established in 1981. They are named for the late Nobel laureate William Faulkner.
