Madonnas of Echo Park Wins National Literary Prize

Long-time resident Brando Skyhorse was recently interviewed by Patch about Echo Park, where he grew up and set his first much celebrated collection of short stories Madonnas of Echo Park.

The news Tuesday is that Skyhorse is the winner of the Hemingway Foundation/PEN award for the collection.

Skyhorse would receive the award at a ceremony at Boston's JFK Presidential Library on March 27th.

The Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award is given for a novel or book of short stories by an American author who has not previously published a book of fiction.

In addition to $8,000, Skyhorse will also receive a one-week residency in The Distinguished Visiting Writers Series at the University of Idaho’s MFA Program in Creative Writing.

Mary Hemingway, the late wife of Ernest Hemingway, founded the award in 1976.

Three fiction writers select the winners.