
This
2003 New York Social Diary article is a nice recollection of the year the
New York Public Library's Young Lions Fiction Award went to two finalists:
Anthony Doerr for his story collection,
The Shell Collector, and
Jonathan Safran Foer, for his novel
Everything Is Illuminated.
"The Fiction Award honors a novel or collection of short stories published within the calendar year by an American author age 35 or younger. The award was established by the Young Lions, a membership group for supporters of the Library in their 20s and 30s, and it is the only major book prize that recognizes fiction by younger writers. The establishment of the award was spearheaded by committee members
Rick Moody, Ethan Hawke, and
Jennifer Rudolph Walsh."
Click here to read the full article.