Aspen Words

The Aspen Words Literary Prize is a $35,000 annual award for an influential work of fiction that illuminates a vital contemporary issue and demonstrates the transformative power of literature on thought and culture.

2023 Aspen Words Literary Prize winner, Jamil Jan Kochai talks at the Pitkin County Library on his new book “The Haunting of Hajji Hotak." The talk was moderated by Aspen Public Radio’s Executive Director, Breeze Richardson.

Jean Chen Ho is the author of “Fiona and Jane,” named a Best Book of the Year by NPR and one of Time’s 100 Must-Read Books of 2022. Her writing appears in New York Times Magazine, The Cut, Electric Literature, Los Angeles Times, Georgia Review and elsewhere.

Aspen Words has selected two short story collections and three novels focused on contemporary social issues for the shortlist of its annual $35,000 “Aspen Words Literary Prize.”

Bessel van der Kolk, M.D. is a pioneer clinician, researcher and teacher in the area of posttraumatic stress. His work uniquely integrates developmental, neurobiological, psychodynamic, somatic and interpersonal aspects of the impact of trauma and its treatment.

Patrick Radden Keefe is an award-winning staff writer at The New Yorker magazine and author of the New York Times bestsellers “Empire of Pain” and “Say Nothing,” as well as two earlier nonfiction books: “The Snakehead” and “Chatter.” His most recent book is “Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels and Crooks.”

The Writers Residency Program with Aspen Words welcomes Leath Tonino as a speaker for their Author Talk Series. Local writer Andrew Travers moderated the talk.

The Writers Residency Program with Aspen Words welcomes Tochukwu Okafor as a speaker for their Author Talk Series. Aspen Public Radio's Breeze Richardson moderated the talk.

The Writers Residency Program with Aspen Words welcomes Jamaica Baldwin as the second speaker for their Author Talk as she reads and talks about some of her poetry.

2022 Author in Residence, Jenn Shapland (“My Autobiography of Carson McCullers”) spoke with Aspen Words Executive Director Adrienne Brodeur during the first Aspen Words Summer Writers in Residence 2022 author talk.