A.J. Verdelle

El Paso author Benjamin Alire Sáenz won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction -- one of the most prestigious honors in literature -- for his collection of stories in "Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club."

"This award allows me to keep my job for a while," Sáenz said jokingly Tuesday.

He paused, took a breath and said he considered his writing a gift for which he thanked his mother, his friends and "everyone who has ever loved me, inspired me and believed in me."


2013 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction Judges Walter Kirn, Nelly Rosario, and A.J. Verdelle have announced their list of five finalists for the this year’s PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. The winner will be announced on March 19th, and the 33rd Annual PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction Ceremony & Dinner will be held on Saturday, May 4th at 7 p.m. at the Folger Shakespeare Library.

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