Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum! Oprah Winfrey's Book Club has chosen Say You're One of Them, the best-selling short-story collection by Uwem Akpan, S.J., the Nigerian Jesuit who you may have first read about (and read: he wrote for us several years ago) in our pages. Here's a brief Of Many Things column on my long-ago advice to the then-burgeoning literary talent, and my subsequent delight in a surprising email telling me of his first acceptance in...The New Yorker. (To cut to the chase: I told him that I would now be coming to him for advice). Here's our more formal review of his book in our literary section. Congratulations to our newest literary star, whose light we hope illumines stories of suffering, grace and redemption for years to come.
Update: The organizers of the Dayton Literary Prize, founded in 2006 for writers who promote peace, emailed me to let us know that Uwem has been short-listed for this year's award.
