Writers John Casey and Joy Williams, named as recipients of "The Mildred and Harold Strauss Livings," will each receive $250,000, in five yearly installments of $50,000. This means they'll be able to spend all their time writing - as the donors intended.
The award comes from a 1981 bequest by Harold Strauss, longtime editor-in-chief of publisher Alfred A. Knopf, and his wife Mildred. Recipients are required to resign other paid positions.Candidates for the livings are nominated by members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and are selected by a committee of leading writers, also academy members. This awarding committee was E.L. Doctorow, Alison Lurie, Paul Theroux and Kurt Vonnegut.
Previous recipients have been Raymond Carver and Cynthia Ozick in 1983, and Diane Johnson and Robert Stone in 1988.