Lauren Groff’s ‘Florida’ wins $20,000 Story Prize

NEW YORK – Lauren Groff’s “Florida,” a collection of often tumultuous portraits of life in the Sunshine State, has won the $20,000 Story Prize for short fiction.

Prize organizers announced Wednesday night that Groff’s book had been selected over Jamel Brinkley’s “A Lucky Man” and Deborah Eisenberg’s “Your Duck Is My Duck.” Judges praised Groff’s book as an “immersive experience” into the “beauty and awfulness” of Florida. Other fans of “Florida” include former President Barack Obama, who has listed it among his favourites of 2018.

Brinkley and Eisenberg each received $5,000.

The Story Prize was started in 2004, with George Saunders, Edwidge Danticat and Anthony Doerr among previous winners. Groff’s other books include the story collection “Delicate Edible Birds” and the novel “Fates and Furies,” a finalist for the National Book Award.