University of Nebraska Awards Book Prizes in Fiction and Poetry to Two Women Scholars

Prairie Schooner, the University of Nebraska’s literary journal, has announced the winners of its 2017 book prizes in fiction and poetry. The winners will receive a cash award and have their books published by the University of Nebraska Press. More than 1,200 entries were received in this year’s competition.

Sara Batkie won the Prairie Schooner Book Prize for Fiction for her manuscript Better Times. A native of Seattle, Washington, Batkie is a graduate of the University of Iowa, where she majored in English. She holds a master of fine arts degree in creative writing from New York University. Batkie is the director of writing programs at the Center for Fiction in New York City.

The winner of the 2017 Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Poetry is Luisa Muradyan Tannahill. She won for her manuscript entitles American Radiance. A native of Odessa, Ukraine, Tannahill earned a master of fine arts degree at Texas State University and is currently a doctoral student in poetry at the University of Houston. Tannahill is the editor of Gulf Coast: A Journal of Literature and Fine Arts.