James Fenimore Cooper Prize for Best Historical Fiction
Encyclopedia
The James Fenimore Cooper Prize for Best Historical Fiction is a biannual award given by The Society of American Historians. The prize is given "to honor works of literary fiction that significantly advance the historical imagination" http://sah.columbia.edu/prizes/cooper.html. The prize is named for nineteenth century American historical novelist James Fenimore Cooper
. The award includes a prize of $2,500.
The prize has been given 9 times since 1993:
James Fenimore Cooper
James Fenimore Cooper was a prolific and popular American writer of the early 19th century. He is best remembered as a novelist who wrote numerous sea-stories and the historical novels known as the Leatherstocking Tales, featuring frontiersman Natty Bumppo...
. The award includes a prize of $2,500.
The prize has been given 9 times since 1993:
- 1993: Shaman by Noah GordonNoah Gordonthumb|250px|Noah Gordon introducing his new book "The Bodega" in Barcelona.Noah Gordon is an American novelist. He was born in Worcester, Massachusetts....
- 1995: In the Lake of the WoodsIn the Lake of the WoodsIn the Lake of the Woods is a novel by Tim O'Brien, author of Pulitzer Prize-nominated The Things They Carried. An example of O'Brien's recurring Vietnam War theme, In the Lake of the Woods follows the struggle of John Wade to deal with a recently failed campaign for the United States Senate...
by Tim O'BrienTim O'Brien (author)Tim O'Brien is an American novelist who often writes about his experiences in the Vietnam War and the impact the war had on the American servicemen who fought there... - 1997: The Cattle Killing by John Edgar WidemanJohn Edgar WidemanJohn Edgar Wideman is an American writer, professor at Brown University, and sits on the contributing editorial board of the literary journal Conjunctions.-Early life:...
- 1999: GainGain (novel)Gain is a novel by Richard Powers published by in 1998. It intertwines two stories: the first is the history of Clare International, a chemical conglomerate with origins in soap manufacturing in the early 18th century; the second is of Laura Bodey, a 42-year-old divorcée living near Clare...
by Richard PowersRichard PowersRichard Powers is an American novelist whose works explore the effects of modern science and technology.- Life and work :... - 2001: Tie: A Dangerous Friend by Ward JustWard JustWard Just is an American writer. He is the author of 17 novels and numerous short stories.-Biography:...
and Bone by Bone by Peter MatthiessenPeter MatthiessenPeter Matthiessen is a two-time National Book Award-winning American novelist and non-fiction writer, as well as an environmental activist... - 2003: Paradise Alley by Kevin BakerKevin BakerKevin Baker is an American novelist and journalist. He was born in Englewood, New Jersey and grew up in New Jersey and Rockport, Massachusetts....
- 2005: The Plot Against AmericaThe Plot Against AmericaThe Plot Against America is a novel by Philip Roth published in 2004. It is an alternate history in which Franklin Delano Roosevelt is defeated in the presidential election of 1940 by Charles Lindbergh.-Plot introduction:...
by Philip RothPhilip RothPhilip Milton Roth is an American novelist. He gained fame with the 1959 novella Goodbye, Columbus, an irreverent and humorous portrait of Jewish-American life that earned him a National Book Award... - 2007: The Last Town on EarthThe Last Town on EarthThe Last Town on Earth is a 2006 novel by Thomas Mullen. The novel focuses on the town of Commonwealth, Washington in 1918 during World War I and the emergence of the Spanish Flu. The town agrees to quarantine itself from the outside world, to hopefully save itself from the flu...
by Thomas MullenThomas MullenThomas Mullen was an Irish teacher and Fianna Fáil politician.Mullen was born in Roemore, Breaffy, County Mayo, to national-school teacher parents, Thomas and Mary. He was educated in St. Jarlath's College, Tuam, and University College Galway. He too became a teacher and taught in Tullamore and... - 2009: Loving FrankLoving FrankLoving Frank is an American novel by Nancy Horan published in 2007. It tells the story of Mamah Borthwick and her illicit love affair with Frank Lloyd Wright amidst the public shame they experienced in early twentieth century America. This fictional account told from a new perspective, that of...
by Nancy HoranNancy HoranNancy Horan is the American author of Loving Frank, a novel about Mamah Borthwick and her relationship with American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Horan was awarded the James Fenimore Cooper Prize for Best Historical Fiction by the Society of American Historians on April 17, 2009, for works...