{"id":522129,"date":"2026-04-09T21:05:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T21:05:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/522129\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T21:05:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T21:05:08","slug":"helen-dewitt-turns-down-175k-windham-campbell-prize-over-promotional-requirements-books","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/522129\/","title":{"rendered":"Helen DeWitt turns down $175k Windham-Campbell prize over promotional requirements | Books"},"content":{"rendered":"

US writer Helen DeWitt has spoken out after being chosen as one of the original eight recipients of this year\u2019s Windham-Campbell writing prizes, worth $175,000 (\u00a3130,000) each, but ultimately having to turn down the award because she was unable to participate in the promotional activities that the prize requires.<\/p>\n

In a blog<\/a> and a series of posts<\/a> on X, the cult author of books including The Last Samurai said that she had been told she had won the award in February, but that receiving the money was \u201ccontingent on extensive promotion\u201d, including participating in a festival, a podcast and a six- to eight-hour filming session for a promotional video.<\/p>\n

At the time, DeWitt was \u201cclose to breakdown\u201d after a series of professional and personal difficulties, she explained. \u201cIf you\u2019re trying not to crack up, there are some things you can\u2019t do; it\u2019s hard to get people to accept that,\u201d she wrote in a blog posted the day the winners of this year\u2019s awards<\/a> were announced.<\/p>\n

Learning of the publicity requirements, she wrote that it was \u201cimpossible to imagine Pynchon or Cormac McCarthy, in early career, contemplating this with anything but horror\u201d. She added: \u201cIf I had eight months clear before the festival I might be able to go to that, but how can I drop everything now, when I had finally cleared time to write after five very bad years?\u201d<\/p>\n

DeWitt\u2019s blogpost recounted a lengthy exchange with prize director Michael Kelleher, during which he appears to agree to make some accommodations, such as relaxing the requirement to speak on a podcast. However, in response to DeWitt\u2019s suggestion that other writers and her husband be filmed for the video in her place, she was told that her personal participation was essential.<\/p>\n

Towards the end of the email exchange, DeWitt tells Kelleher she must \u201cregretfully decline to accept the prize on the specified terms\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Windham-Campbell prizes were launched in 2013, funded by a bequest from the writer Donald Windham. Recipients, which this year include the British novelist Gwendoline Riley, are nominated confidentially.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the superstructure of the prize excludes people who are not able to do all the extra things you want, that hardly seems in the spirit of what was intended by its generous founders,\u201d DeWitt wrote in an email to Kelleher, quoted in her blogpost.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Windham-Campbell prizes are life-changing awards rooted in the communal, public celebration of writers and their work,\u201d said Kelleher in response to a request for comment from the Guardian. \u201cWe deeply appreciate all writers and respect that some individuals may choose not to participate. We celebrate the achievements of our recipients and the power of literature to connect us all.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"US writer Helen DeWitt has spoken out after being chosen as one of the original eight recipients of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":522130,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[96,59,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-522129","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-gb","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=522129"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522129\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/522130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=522129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=522129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=522129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}