{"product_id":"battleborn-9781594631450","title":"Battleborn","description":"\u003ch2\u003eAward-Winning Debut Collection from Claire Vaye Watkins\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eBattleborn\u003c\/i\u003e marks the extraordinary debut of Claire Vaye Watkins, Guggenheim Award-winning author who would go on to write \u003ci\u003eGold Fame Citrus\u003c\/i\u003e. This collection of ten short stories has earned recognition as one of the most powerful literary debuts in contemporary American fiction.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eCritical Acclaim and Awards\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWinner of the 2012 Story Prize and recipient of the American Academy of Arts and Letters 2013 Rosenthal Family Foundation Award, \u003ci\u003eBattleborn\u003c\/i\u003e established Watkins as a significant voice in American literature. The National Book Foundation named her one of their \"5 Under 35\" fiction writers of 2012, and she received the New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award. NPR recognized it among the Best Short Story Collections of 2012, while publications including \u003ci\u003eBoston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSan Francisco Chronicle\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eTime Out New York\u003c\/i\u003e named it a Best Book of the year.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eStories That Reimagine the American West\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWatkins writes fearlessly into the mythology of the American West, creating ten unforgettable stories that span from Gold Rush era to modern-day Nevada. Her characters navigate vast desert spaces, brothels, ghost towns, and remote hermitages, finding redemption through hardship and violence. The collection includes stories of a prostitution ranch transformed by a foreigner's arrival, a prospecting hermit confronting the limits of rugged individualism while rescuing an abused teenager, and a woman reckoning with a degrading encounter in a Vegas hotel room decades later.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eLiterary Comparisons and Style\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eCritics have compared Watkins' work to Cormac McCarthy, Denis Johnson, Richard Ford, and Annie Proulx. \u003ci\u003eBattleborn\u003c\/i\u003e represents a confluence of sensibility and setting, introducing an exceptionally powerful and original literary voice. The collection arcs from sweeping and sublime landscapes to minute personal moments, echoing Nevada's state motto in both title and fierce, undefeated spirit.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eAbout Claire Vaye Watkins\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA graduate of the University of Nevada Reno and Ohio State University, Watkins has published in \u003ci\u003eGranta\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eOne Story\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Paris Review\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003ePloughshares\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eGlimmer Train\u003c\/i\u003e. She has received fellowships from Sewanee and Bread Loaf Writers' Conferences. As an assistant professor at Bucknell University and co-director of the Mojave School—a free creative writing workshop for teenagers in rural Nevada—she continues to champion storytelling rooted in the American West.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003eClaire Vaye Watkins\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/b\u003eis the author of \u003ci\u003eBattleborn\u003c\/i\u003e, winner of the Story Prize, the Rosenthal Family Foundation Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and a Silver Pen Award from the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame. \u003ci\u003eBattleborn \u003c\/i\u003ewas named a Best Book of 2012 by the \u003ci\u003eSan Francisco Chronicle\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eBoston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eTime Out New York\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eFlavorwire\u003c\/i\u003e, and a Best Short Story Collection by NPR.org. In 2012, the National Book Foundation named Claire one of the 5 Best Writers Under 35. Her stories and essays have appeared in \u003ci\u003eGranta\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eOne Story\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Paris Review\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003ePloughshares\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eGlimmer Train\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eBest of the West 2011\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eBest of the Southwest 2013\u003c\/i\u003e, and elsewhere. A graduate of the University of Nevada Reno and the Ohio State University, Claire has received fellowships from the Writers' Conferences at Sewanee and Bread Loaf. An assistant professor at Bucknell University, Claire is also the co-director, with Derek Palacio, of the Mojave School, a free creative writing workshop for teenagers in rural Nevada.","brand":"Riverhead Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50681276301586,"sku":"9781594631450","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_b2133f04-ec05-4119-8f9e-2251ce5a4b39.jpg?v=1733951177","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/battleborn-9781594631450","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}