Isherwood Prize

I’m so happy to share the news that I have won The Christopher Isherwood Prize for Autobiographical Prose from the Los Angeles Times and the Christopher Isherwood Foundation. It’s especially moving because my late father loved Isherwood’s Berlin Stories. I remember pulling the old New Directions edition of the book from my dad’s shelves and finding myself obscurely but stubbornly inspired: I wanted to do this too. I’m honored and nearly abashed by what the judges wrote: “MONSTERS considers how we come to love art made by less than perfect humans. Dederer engages the essayist form at its best and the result is critical, literary and provocative. We are delighted to give this prize to such an extraordinary writer.” Next stop: the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, to pick up my prize!