George Saunders took home the 2013 Story Prize for his collection, Tenth of December, beating out the other two finalists, Andrea Barrett (Archangel) and Rebecca Lee (Bobcat) for the tenth annual prize, which came with $20,000.
The founder of the prize, Julie Lindsey, announced Saunders as the winner during a ceremony at the New School in New York City on March 5. As runners-up, Barrett and Lee each received $5,000. Saunders’ previous collection, In Persuasion Nation (2006), was a finalist for The Story Prize in 2007.
Story Prize director Larry Dark and Lindsey selected the three finalists from among 96 books entered in 2013, representing 64 different publishers and imprints. The judges included Stephen Enniss, director of the Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin; author Antonya Nelson; and Rob Spillman, editor of literary magazine Tin House.
