Mary Rechner on Frank O'Connor Long List

Congratulations to Portland's own Mary Rechner and her Portland-based publisher Propeller Books for being named to the long list for the 2011 Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award, for her collection Nine Simple Patterns for Complicated Women. You can read what we wrote about Mary's book when she read at Broadway Books last October.

The Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award is the world’s richest and most prestigious prize for the form and is sponsored by the Cork City Council. It is awarded to the best new collection of short stories each year. The short list will be announced in July, with the award ceremony taking place in September.

This year's group of long listees includes twelve authors from the UK, twenty-six from the US, eight from Canada, four from Ireland, three from India, two from Bulgaria, and one each from Japan, Nigeria, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, China, and Spain. Joining Mary on this year's long list are Colm Toibin (The Empty Family), Danielle Evans (Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self), Anthony Doerr (Memory Wall), Siobhan Fallon (You Know When the Men Are Gone), and Yiyun Li (Gold Boy, Emerald Girl), among others. You can read the full list here.

Last year's winner of the Frank O'Connor award was Ron Rash, for his collection Burning Bright.  The award in '09 went to Simon Van Booy for Love Begins in Winter, the '08 award to Jhumpa Lahiri for Unaccustomed Earth, and the '07 to Miranda July for No One Belongs Here More Than You.

Congratulations, Mary, on this well-deserved honor!