S5 Ep. 10: ‘How on Earth Do You Judge Books?’: Susan Choi and Oscar Villalon on the Real Story Behind Literary Awards

fiction/non/fiction

National Book Award-winning novelist Susan Choi and critic and editor Oscar Villalon talk to Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell about the business, prestige and (hopefully) idealism of literary awards. Choi talks about critical reception versus award recognition, the roles of luck and taste, and how winning a major prize for her novel Trust Exercise changed her career. Villalon talks about making his way through stacks of nominated books, who can afford to judge book awards, diversity on judging panels, and his experience chairing the 2021 Pulitzer Prize fiction jury.

To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video excerpts from our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/

This podcast is produced by Anne Kniggendorf.

Selected Readings:

Susan Choi

• Trust Exercise
• American Woman
• My Education
• The Foreign Student

Oscar Villalon

• ZYZZYVA
• Letters from San Francisco: When the Shadow is Looming
• Future Shock

Others:

• Fiction - The Pulitzer Prizes
• Announcing the 2022 PEN America Literary Awards Finalists
• Announcing the Finalists for the National Book Critics Circle Awards
• Augustus by John Williams
• Stoner by John Williams
• Is College Education a Right or a Privilege? Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 1, Episode 5
• The Lost Books of the Odyssey by Zachary Mason
• The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw
• Salvage The Bones - By Jesmyn Ward - Book Review - The New York Times
• Just How White is the Book Industry?
• Who Gets to Be a Writer? - Public Books
• Tinkers by Paul Harding
• All the President's Henchmen: Susan Choi and Garrett Graff on the Citizens of the Swamp Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 3, Episode 9

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices