Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize
The Kafka Prize Winner for Fiction Published in 2024
We are thrilled to announce that this year's recipient of the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize for Fiction is Claire Oshetsky, for the novel Poor Deer (Ecco, 2024)!
Oshetsky will be visiting the 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ on Saturday, September 20, 2025 at 3pm to read from her prize-winning novel. Join us for the reading, enjoy food and wine, and purchase a copy of the winning book. In order to attend, . The reading is offered as a part of our annual alumni weekend this year.
From the Kafka Committee:
Poor Deer is a fever dream of a book, oscillating between reality and an exploration into what our consciousness allows us to remember when we desperately wish to forget. The story takes us through the life of Margaret Murphy as she finds herself face to face with an impossible decision at age four. The consequences of those actions span throughout her life in a spiderweb of fractures that affects her and the ones that she loves the most. As Margaret tries to grapple with the reality of what happened on that fateful day as she stumbles through adolescence and then adulthood, she has to confront the truth time and time again whether she wants to or not. Poor Deer will not let her forget.
Read more about Oshetsky's novel .
Reading group
The Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize Committee is hosting a reading group for this year's winning book, Poor Deer by Claire Oshetsky. Oshetksy will be visiting the 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ on September 20th at 3PM for a reading and reception.
The reading group will be casual and open to staff, faculty, students, and community members. You do not need to attend each meeting or the entirety of meetings, where we will hold discussions of various aspects of the book. We will offer a free copy of the book to those who register (up to 25 participants), and we will offer snacks during meetings.
Please register for the reading group here so we can be sure to have a copy of the book for you.
The reading group will meet in the Humanities Center Lounge in Rush Rhees Library on:
- Friday, Sept 5 from 12-1
- Friday, Sept 12 from 12-1
- Author meeting on September 19th TBA
About the Kafka Prize
Since 1976, the Susan B. Anthony Institute for Gender and Women's Studies and the Department of English at the 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ have awarded the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize for fiction by an American woman. The idea for the prize came out of the personal grief of the friends and family of a fine young editor who was killed in an automobile accident just as her career was beginning to achieve its promise of excellence. She was 30 years old, and those who knew her believed she would do much to further the causes of literature and women. Her family, her friends, and her professional associates in the publishing industry created the endowment from which the prize is bestowed, in memory of Janet Heidinger Kafka and the literary standards and personal ideals for which she stood.
Each year a substantial cash prize is awarded annually to a woman and who has written the best book-length work of prose fiction, whether novel, short stories, or experimental writing. We are particularly interested in calling attention to the work of a promising but less established writer.
The Kafka Prize selection committee
- Eileen Daly-Boas, 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Library
- Taylor Ellis, Archivist Books
- Rachel O'Donnell, Writing, Speaking, and Argument Program
- Chad Post, Open Letter Books
- Laura Whitebell, Writing, Speaking, and Argument Program