Novelist and short story writer Patricia Engel will visit Longwood University to receive the 42nd annual John Dos Passos Prize for Literature on Wednesday, April 10.

Engel will be awarded the prize—which comes with an honorarium and medal—during a ceremony at 7 p.m. in the Soza Ballroom in the Upchurch University Center. The event is free and open to the public, and will include an interview and reading by the author and will be followed by a reception with complimentary refreshments.

Engel’s work can help us understand topics such as the crossing of borders and immigrant experiences in new ways.

Dr. John Miller, associate professor of early American literature in the English department and chair of the selection jury Tweet This

“Many of her subjects—coming to understand yourself, navigating love and grief—are timeless. Others seem especially timely,” said Dr. John Miller, associate professor of early American literature in the English department and chair of the selection jury. “Engel’s work can help us understand topics such as the crossing of borders and immigrant experiences in new ways.”

Engel is best-known for her collection Vida (2010), a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Fiction Award; her novel The Veins of the Ocean (2016), winner of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize and named a New York Times Editors’ Choice; and Infinite Country (2021); a New York Times bestseller. She was born in the U.S. to Colombian parents, and is currently an associate professor in the Creative Writing Program at the University of Miami.

The John Dos Passos Prize is the oldest literary award given by a Virginia college or university. It is given annually by Longwood University to a talented American writer who experiments with form, explores a range of voices and merits further recognition.

For more information or if you have questions about this event, please contact John Miller at millerjd@longwood.edu.

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