Zadie Smith to Receive 2021 St. Louis Literary Award Thursday, November 4

10/28/2021

The Saint Louis University Library Associates will honor British author Zadie Smith with the 2021 St. Louis Literary Award on November 4.  The event will include a discussion with Smith moderated by Christopher Tinson, Ph.D., chair of SLU’s Department of African American Studies.

The ceremony will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 4, at the Sheldon Concert Hall. In-person and virtual tickets are still available.

Register for the Literary Award Ceremony

Zadie Smith is the author of the novels “White Teeth,” “The Autograph Man,” “On Beauty,” “NW,” and “Swing Time,” as well as essay collections “Changing My Mind” and “Feel Free.”

She was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2002, and was listed as one of Granta’s 20 Best Young British Novelists in 2003 and again in 2013. “White Teeth” won multiple literary awards including the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, the Whitbread First Novel Award and the Guardian First Book Award. “On Beauty” was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and won the Orange Prize for Fiction, and “NW” was shortlisted for the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction.

Smith is currently a tenured professor of fiction at New York University and a Member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Her latest work, “Intimations,” is a short series of reflective essays written during the early months of the COVID-19 lockdown. Intimations explores ideas and questions prompted by an unprecedented situation.

In addition to the award ceremony, there are several other events slated to honor and discuss Smith’s work.

• November 5 - A craft talk with Smith will take place on campus Friday, Nov. 5. The SLU community is invited to attend the event in Cook Hall; others can attend virtually. Register for the Craft Talk. 
• November 18 - Unnerving Women and Aging Drag Queens: Representations of Gender Variance and Alternate Sexualities in Zadie Smith’s “Grand Union.” The Campus Read Book Talk will be led by Katie Gutierrez, Ph.D. candidate in English at Saint Louis University. The event will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 18.  Register for the Book Talk. 
• December 9 - Transnationalism and Displacement in Zadie Smith’s “White Teeth.” The Campus Read Book Talk will be led by Joya Uraizee, Ph.D., associate professor of English at Saint Louis University. The event will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 9.  Register for the Book Talk. 

The St. Louis Literary Award

The St. Louis Literary Award is presented annually by the Saint Louis University Library Associates and has become one of the top literary prizes in the country. The award honors a writer who deepens our insight into the human condition and expands the scope of our compassion. Some of the most important writers of the 20th and 21st centuries have come to Saint Louis University to accept the honor, including Margaret Atwood, Salmon Rushdie, Eudora Welty, John Updike, Saul Bellow, August Wilson, Stephen Sondheim and Tom Wolfe.

Saint Louis University Library Associates

One of the oldest literary and cultural organizations in St. Louis, the Saint Louis University Library Associates seeks to build a closer relationship between the University and the community and to promote an appreciation for the value of literature. The Library Associates work to enhance the visibility of the Saint Louis University Libraries and to support the development of their world-class collections and services.