Claudia Rankine and Meghan Daum lead 2015 PEN Literary Awards

Sept. 10, 2015 10 AM PT

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Claudia Rankine and Meghan Daum are two of the winners of the 2015 PEN Center USA Literary Awards, announced Thursday morning. Based in Los Angeles, PEN Center USA annually honors poetry, nonfiction, fiction, screenwriting and journalism by writers from the West, while also celebrating the work of creative writers who foster free speech.

Other winning writers include Daniel Alarcón, G. Willow Wilson, McKenzie Funk, and Graham Moore. The complete list of writers, books and awards is below.

Filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola will receive the lifetime achievement award. Coppola is an Oscar-winning screenwriter, director and producer whose films include “The Godfather” saga and “Apocalypse Now.” He also is the founder of the online writers community Zoetrope: All-Story, in existence for 18 years.

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The previously announced First Amendment Award will go to CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou, and the Award of Honor will be presented to investigative journalism nonprofit ProPublica.

The awards will be presented in a gala ceremony at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on Nov. 16. For the second year, Aisha Tyler will serve as host.

PEN Center USA 2015 Literary Awards:

Creative Nonfiction Award: Meghan Daum, “The Unspeakable”
Drama Award: Victor Lodato, “Arlington”
Fiction Award: Robert Thomas, “Bridge”
Graphic Literature Innovator Award: G. Willow Wilson
Journalism Award: Daniel Alarcón, “The Contestant,” California Sunday Magazine
Poetry Award: Claudia Rankine, “Citizen”
Research Nonfiction Award: McKenzie Funk, “Windfall”
Screenplay Award: Graham Moore, “The Imitation Game”
Teleplay Award: Noah Hawley, “The Crocodile’s Dilemma” from “Fargo”
Translation Award: Ainsley Morse and Peter Golub, “Anatomical Theater”
UC Press First Book Award: Jordana Moore Saggese, “Reading Basquiat”
Young Adult/Children’s Award: Leslye Walton, “The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender”