It has been a treat to follow Claire Vaye Watkins become a respected author who has been honored by her peers over the past year. In March of this year Claire won the $10,000 Rosenthal Family Foundation Award and the $20,000 Story Prize Award. Well, she has done it again! On November 7 Claire bested six others, in the eyes of the judges, to win the prestigious Dylan Thomas Prize and $48,000. Not bad for a girl from the desert whose father, Paul Watkins, was touted in the press as a major player in the "Manson Family".
Judges said she was an "exceptional" writer and described her collection
Battleborn as "infectious".
The California-born 29-year-old was one of seven writers aged under 30
shortlisted for the prize.
The prize, based in Thomas's birthplace of Swansea, is one of the largest
literary cash awards in the world.
Read the whole story-
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-24855534
