Cabell First Novelist Award
VCU Department of English

Eighth Annual VCU First Novelist Award
Deb Olin Unferth for Vacation

The Department of English, the MFA Program in Creative Writing, and the VCU Libraries at Virginia Commonwealth University are pleased to announce the selection of Vacation by Deb Olin Unferth (McSweeney’s).

Vacation was one of three finalists chosen by our readers. The others were Famous Suicides of the Japanese Empire by David Mura (Coffee House Press), and Where the Line Bleeds by Jesmyn Ward (Agate Bolden). For further information, visit www.firstnovelist.vcu.edu.

Deb Olin Unferth

Now in its eighth year, the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award honors the best debut novel published during a calendar year. For publishing year 2008, we received more than 80 novels from presses large and small. The selection of the winner was a months-long process that involved over 100 readers from Virginia Commonwealth University and the community of Richmond, VA. This group narrowed the books to a list of finalists and semifinalists, which were announced in May, 2009. These books were then read and reviewed by an independent panel of judges. This year's judges were Travis Holland, winner of the 2008 VCU Cabell First Novelist Award for The Archivist’s Story, Peter Orner, winner of the 2007 award for The Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo, and VCU Professor Andrew Blossom.

As winner, Ms. Unferth will be invited to attend the 2009 VCU Cabell First Novelist Festival at Virginia Commonwealth University. The Festival will take place in the fall of 2009 and is designed to highlight the journey of a new writer from idea to publication, with specific focus on those elements that make Ms. Unferth’s experience unique. Travel expenses to Richmond and lodging accommodations for the author, agent, and editor will be provided, as will a $5000 cash prize for the author.

We would like to express our most sincere thanks to all who entered and thus made this annual contest such a success. Sponsors include the VCU Department of English, James Branch Cabell Library Associates, Friends of the Library, the VCU Libraries, the VCU Honors College, and the VCU College of Humanities and Sciences.