Geraldine Brooks, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Horse: A Novel, Nov. 9 was awarded first prize in Castleton Lyons's 17th annual Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award, the sponsor of the prize said in a release Friday.
The work of fiction tells the story of 19th century racehorse and sire Lexington by moving back and forth through time and space from the antebellum South to modern day New York and Washington D. C.
At a reception held at Castleton Lyons outside of Lexington, Brooks received a check for $10,000 and a Tipperary crystal trophy in the form of the farm's stone tower. Two finalists for the award– Kathryn Scanlan, for the novel Kick the Latch, and Mary Perdue for her biography of undefeated champion Landaluce–also received crystal trophies, along with $1,000 checks.
“Thoroughbred literature was fortunate that an author of Geraldine Brooks's talent chose the subject of the great Lexington to weave a modern tale into this historical novel,” lead judge Kay Coyte observed.
In addition to Coyte, the judging panel included FanDuel's Caton Bredar, and Annette Dashofy, author of last year's winning entry, Death By Equine.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
