A Winner!

Congratulations to Madeleine, who won a copy of Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I love the randomness of random.org in choosing prize winners!

I am on my way back to Baltimore today from house-hunting in New Jersey. After a stop over in Philadelphia to see the Frida Kahlo exhibit, we'll be heading home, and hopefully I'll have more reviews up soon (as well as posting my own challenge list for the Neustadt Challenge). I have a terrible back log of reviews to write, including Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See and The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith. 

Oh, and yes we did find a home! We decided to rent again for the time being, but found a cute 2 bedroom townhouse in a nice area. After looking at quite a few dumps, we came across this gem. Now, the packing begins. :)

Thanks to Maggie for the great challenge button!

The Neustadt Challenge

**This is a sticky post** 

(scroll down for most recent posts)

Up for a Challenge??

After much thought, I have finally decided to dive into the world of hosting challenges. Therefore, I introduce the Neustadt Challenge, which will run from May - August 2008. The Neuwhat, you say?

The Neustadt International Prize for Literature is a biennial award for a body of work by poets, novelists, or playwrights. The prize is not limited by geographic area, language, or genre, and is hosted by the University of Oklahoma and the international literary publication World Literature Today.

I only recently learned of the existence of the Neustadt Prize, after reading Links by Nuruddin Farah, the 1998 award recipient. I quickly looked up other winners, and added quite a few authors to my TBR list. Then, I thought to myself, I should share this joy with others! Hence, a challenge is born. And if anyone could help create one of those neat image buttons for the challenge, let me know!

You have two options with this challenge, which will run from May - August, 2008.

1. Read three books/plays/collection of poetry by one of the authors who have received the award.

2. Read three books by three different authors.

You can combine any or all of your books with other challenges. There will be giveaways and fun stuff for participants, because I love to give things away!

Here is the list of award winners. In the weeks leading up to the challenge start date, I will be posting information about each writer and their work. If you would like to join me, just sign up with Mr. Linky below.

2008 Patricia Grace (New Zealand) - to be awarded in Fall 2008)

2006 Claribel Alegría (Nicaragua/El Salvador)
2004 Adam Zagajewski (Poland)
2002 Alvaro Mutis (Colombia) 
2000 David Malouf (Australia) 
1998 Nuruddin Farah (Somalia) 
1996 Assia Djebar (Algeria) 
1994 Kamau Brathwaite (Barbados) 
1992 João Cabral de Melo Neto (Brazil) 
1990 Tomas Tranströmer (Sweden)
1988 Raja Rao (India)
1986 Max Frisch (Switzerland) 
1984 Paavo Haavikko (Finland) 
1982 Octavio Paz (Mexico) 
1980 Josef Škvorecky  (Czechoslovakia/Canada) 
1978 Czeslaw Milosz (Poland) 
1976 Elizabeth Bishop (USA) 
1974 Francis Ponge (France) 
1972 Gabriel García Márquez (Colombia) 

1970 Giuseppe Ungaretti (Italy)

The Neustadt Challenge Sign-Up 

Edit: Please link to your challenge post, even if it is just preliminary, so other participants can easily find it on your blog.

Neustadt Challenge starting soon!

**Sticky Post***

Don't forget...the Neustadt Challenge is starting soon!

I will be giving away a copy of Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (the 1972 winner of the Neustadt Prize) for all participants who post a challenge list on their blog by May 1. Just leave a comment on this post to let me know you would like to be entered! I will be holding the drawing the first week of May.

You can still join in the challenge! To find out more about the Neustadt challenge and to sign up, just head over to my original post.

Sorry that I don't have a neat little button for the challenge, I haven't quite mastered that skill yet.