Eight Writers Get Surprise MacArthur-Style Literary Award

The Windham-Campbell Prizes, no-strings-attached grants of $165,000, go to English-language writers who don’t know they’re being considered. This year’s winners include British authors Olivia Laing and Sarah Bakewell, American playwrights Suzan-Lori Parks and Lucas Hnath, novelists John Keene (US) and Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi (Uganda/UK), and poets Cathy Park Hong (US) and Lorna Goodison (Jamaica).