Katherine Vaz
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Katherine Vaz | |
|---|---|
 Vaz in 2007 | |
| Born | August 26, 1955 |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Genre | Novels, short stories, non-fiction, children’s literature |
| Spouses | |
Katherine Vaz (born August 26, 1955) is a Portuguese-American writer. A Briggs-Copeland Fellow in Fiction at Harvard University (2003–2009), a 2006–2007 Fellow of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study,[1] and the Fall 2012 Harman Fellow at Baruch College in New York,[2] she is the author of the critically acclaimed novel Above the Salt, a People Magazine Book of the Week and a Top Book of November, a Top Three Pick by Good Morning, America, and a Most Anticipated Book for Fall 2023 by Zibby’s Books and Goodreads.[3]
Vaz's novel Saudade (St. Martin’s Press, 1994) is the first contemporary novel about Portuguese-Americans from a major New York publisher. It was optioned by Marlee Matlin/Solo One Productions and selected in the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers series.[4]
Her novel, Mariana, (HarperCollins, 1997), was selected by the Library of Congress as one of the Top 30 International Books of 1998 and has been translated into six languages.[1] Mariana has been optioned for screen development with Harrison Productions.[5]
Vaz's first short story collection Fado & Other Stories received the 1997 Drue Heinz Literature Prize[6] and her second collection, Our Lady of the Artichokes, won the 2007 Prairie Schooner Book Prize.[7]
Vaz is a recipient of a Literature Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts (1993) [8] and the Davis Humanities Institute Fellowship (1999). She has been named by the Luso-Americano as one of the Top 50 Luso-Americanos of the twentieth century [9] and is the first Portuguese-American to have her work recorded for the Library of Congress, housed in the Hispanic Division. The Portuguese-American Women’s Association (PAWA) named her 2003 Woman of the Year.[10] She was appointed to the six-person U.S. Presidential Delegation to open the American Pavilion at the World’s Fair/Expo 98 in Lisbon.[11] She lives in New York City and the Springs area of East Hampton with her husband, Christopher Cerf, whom she married in July 2015.[12]
- 1997: Drue Heinz Literature Prize, Fado & Other Stories [13]
- 2007: Prairie Schooner Book Prize, "" [7]
Accolades
- Vaz is the first Portuguese-American writer to have work recorded for the Archives of the Library of Congress
- Named one of the top fifty Luso-Americans of the 20th century by LusoAmericano Magazine
- Named by the Portuguese Leadership Council of the U.S. as one of the All-Time Most Influential Lusa Women
- Appointed to the six-person Presidential Delegation to open the U.S. pavilion at Expo 98/World's Fair in Lisbon[14]
- Above the Salt chosen as one of People Magazine's Best New Books to Read in Nov. 2023[15]
