Eisenberg book wins PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction

The PEN/Faulkner Foundation announced Tuesday in Washington, D.C. that “The Collected Stories of Deborah Eisenberg” by Deborah Eisenberg had been selected as the winner of the 2011 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction.

Eisenberg’s book was selected from among 320 novels and short story collections by American authors published in the U.S. during the 2010 calendar year.

Other finalists for this year’s award included “A Visit From The Goon Squad” by Jennifer Egan, “The Lord of Misrule” by Jaimy Gordon, “Model Home” by Eric Puchner and “Aliens in The Prime of Their Lives” by Brad Watson.

Eisenberg, 65, is mostly known for being a prominent short story writer, and “The Collected Stories of Deborah Eisenberg” brings together four volumes of Eisenberg’s work – “Transactions in a Foreign Currency,” “Under the 82nd Airborne,” “All Around Atlantis” and “Twilight of the Superheroes.”

I checked Amazon Wednesday afternoon, and copies of “The Collected Stories of Deborah Eisenberg” (992 pages) are in stock. They’re selling there for $14.96 each. Barnes & Noble also had the book in stock and was selling it for $15.03 per copy.

The PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, now in its 31st year, is America’s largest peer-juried prize for fiction. As you might imagine, a host of prestigious authors have won the PEN/Faulkner Award over the years. What follows is a complete list of the all-time winners.

2011 – Deborah Eisenberg for “The Collected Stories of Deborah Eisenberg
2010 – Sherman Alexie for “War Dances”
2009 – Joseph O’Neill for “Netherland”
2008 – Kate Christensen for “The Great Man”
2007 – Philip Roth for “Everyman”
2006 – E.L. Doctorow for “The March”
2005 – Ha Jin for “War Trash”
2004 – John Updike for “The Early Stories: 1953-1975”
2003 – Sabina Murray for “The Caprices”
2002 – Ann Patchett for “Bel Canto”
2001 – Philip Roth for “The Human Stain”

2000 – Ha Jin for “Waiting”
1999 – Michael Cunningham for “The Hours”
1998 – Rafi Zabor for “The Bear Comes Home”
1997 – Gina Berriault for “Women in Their Beds”
1996 – Richard Ford for “Independence Day”
1995 – David Guterson for “Snow Falling on Cedars”
1994 – Philip Roth for “Operation Shylock”
1993 – E. Annie Proulx for “Postcards”
1992 – Don DeLillo for “Mao II”
1991 – John Edgar Wideman for “Philadelphia Fire”

1990 – E.L. Doctorow for “Billy Bathgate”
1989 – James Salter for “Dusk and Other Stories”
1988 – T. Coraghessan Boyle for “World’s End”
1987 – Richard Wiley for “Soldiers in Hiding”
1986 – Peter Taylor for “The Old Forest”
1985 – Tobias Wolff for “The Barracks Thief”
1984 – John Edgar Wideman for “Sent for You Yesterday”
1983 – Toby Olson for “Seaview”
1982 – David Bradley for “The Chaneysville Incident”
1981 – Walter Abish for “How German Is It”

How many of these books have you had a chance to read? What did you think about them? Which did you like, dislike? Which would you recommend and why? Let us know in the comments section below.