NEW YORK (AP) — Author Ted Chiang has won a lifetime achievement prize for short stories, the PEN/Malamud Award, marking only the second time a science fiction writer has been honored since the award was established in 1988.
Chiang, who has received numerous Nebula, Hugo and other science fiction prizes, is known for such collections as “Exhalation” and “Stories of Your Life and Others.” Ursula K. Le Guin is the only previous science fiction author to win the PEN/Malamud.
“Ted Chiang’s stories are an absolute wonder to behold,” award committee chair Jung Yun said in a statement Tuesday. “Not only do they demonstrate his exceptionally high standards for creativity and construction, they also invite readers to think, imagine, and explore unique worlds beyond their own.”
Chiang said in a statement that he was “surprised and delighted” by the award and that he feels “privileged to be a part of science fiction’s growing acceptance in the wider literary world.”
“As a writer I appreciate the way the short story allows me to focus on a single idea or moment, and it’s wonderful to receive an award that celebrates the form,” he said.
The award is named for the late fiction writer Bernard Malamud, and for his wife, Ann. Other winners include Alice Munro, Jhumpa Lahiri and Edwidge Danticat.
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