Not a huge Eggers fan, but congrats to him and cheers for giving the award money to a nonprofit.
Eggers wins Heinz award
Dave Eggers, an author and advocate for fresh literary voices and fledgling writers, is one of six winners of this year's $250,000 Heinz Awards, cited for his contribution to and leadership in the arts and humanities.
Eggers, 37, who grew up in Lake Forest and is now based in San Francisco, is the youngest to have received this prominent prize, in any of its five categories, in the 13 years that Pittsburgh's Heinz Family Foundation has been bestowing them.
He is the author of the memoir "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" and such novels as "You Shall Know Our Velocity!" He also is the founder of McSweeney's, a book, magazine and a literary journal publisher that has become a haven for emerging and underappreciated talent.
With his book earnings, he established 826 National, a group of non-profit writing and tutoring labs for youths ages 6 to 18. It has chapters in six cities, including Chicago, with a seventh to open this fall in Boston.
"A novelist whose meteoric commercial and critical success has helped propel him into the worlds of philanthropy, advocacy and education, Dave Eggers is a true force of nature," said the foundation in announcing the no-strings awards.
In an e-mail exchange, Eggers shared credit for the Heinz with colleagues at McSweeney's and 826 National. Though McSweeney's has been having financial problems because of the bankruptcy of a distributor, he asked that his winnings go to 826 National, with the money to be split among the seven chapters.
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