The six writers on the “short list” had been selected from a field of 1,153. The top prize went to New Zealand writer Christian Karlson Stead.
Vann was nominated for a short story, “It’s Not Yours,” which is not part of “Legend of a Suicide.” That story will be published in the Sunday Times Magazine later this spring.
“Legend of a Suicide” will be the London Times Book Club selection for March.
In 2008 it was a holiday book pick by the New York Times, although few copies were to be had at that time. No matter; Vann himself said, “I can’t imagine why anyone would give such a depressing novel as a Christmas present.”
Sukkwan Island, the setting for the central story in “Legend of a Suicide,” is a real place, just south of Hydaberg on Prince of Wales Island. But Vann said that, despite his travels in Southeast, he has never visited the place.
“I intentionally set it on an island I’d never been to,” he explained. “I needed a place that would fit the contours of the imagination.”
He did make a trip to the Kenai Peninsula last summer, however, to refresh his memories for his next book, “Caribou Island.” He hiked around Skilak Lake, went out on a commercial fishing boat, pulled a stint at a canner, lent an ear to locals’ gripes over environmental regulations, the Exxon Valdez settlement and the proliferation of dip-netters.
“Mostly the place hasn’t changed in the last 15 years,” he concluded.
Vann lives in San Francisco with his wife, Nancy. He teaches creative writing at the University of San Francisco. His Web site is davidvann.com.
— Mike Dunham, Anchorage Daily News
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