UC Irvine News Brief: Alumna wins prestigious PEN book award
Vicki Forman, a 1994 graduate of the M.F.A. writing program, is honored in the creative nonfiction category for her memoir, “This Lovely Life.”
This Lovely Life, a memoir by Vicki Forman, a 1994 graduate of UCI’s M.F.A. Programs in Writing, has garnered the 2010 PEN USA Literary Award for creative nonfiction. Forman writes of the harrowing medical interventions and ethical considerations surrounding the birth of twins Evan and Ellie at just 23 weeks of gestation. PEN USA, the West Coast center for the renowned writers organization International PEN, honors outstanding work in 10 genres. This year’s winners, who each will receive $1,000, were selected from among more than 500 entries. The awards will be presented at the 20th annual Literary Awards Festival, known as LitFest, on Nov. 17 at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Past winners include Alice Walker, Woody Allen, Billy Wilder, Ray Bradbury and Gore Vidal.