For his debut novel, “Ibis,” Associate Professor of English Justin Haynes recently earned two prestigious literary honors: the PEN Open Book Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize’s Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction. Both prizes rank among the most significant honors in American publishing and recognize exceptional achievement in writing and storytelling.
Often called the “Oscars of books,” the PEN Awards annually celebrate distinguished work in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, playwriting and essays. Haynes received the Open Book Award, which specifically honors authors of color.
“The recognition is humbling,” Haynes says. “PEN isn’t just about awards; it’s an organization whose more-than-100-year mission is rooted in defending artistic freedom around the world. I’m fortunate to be able to speak truth to a certain kind of power through my writing.”
The Open Book Award includes a $10,000 prize and a fully funded residency at Civitella Ranieri, located in a 15th-century castle in Italy.
Authors from across the country submit their work for consideration for the PEN Awards. The Los Angeles Times Book Prizes, however, have no nomination process; judges themselves select which books to consider.
Receiving the Art Seidenbaum Award was therefore an unexpected and welcome surprise for Haynes. Named for the founder of the Book Prizes, the award recognizes outstanding debut works of fiction.
Haynes’s novel, “Ibis,” explores immigration, community and the enduring bond between mothers and daughters. Told through a wide-ranging cast of characters, the story moves fluidly back and forth through time, tracing the perilous arc of a young girl’s search for her birth mother.
Haynes brings a distinctive wit and sharp vision to this serious subject matter, balancing gravity with moments of humor.
“The project’s overall vision grew out of atrocities committed against women and migrants, and the urge to tell this story wouldn’t leave me,” Haynes explains. “But the darkness of the material meant that if I didn’t find some humor in the absurdity of past and present mistreatment, I would have buckled and never finished the book.”
In addition to teaching, Haynes serves as coordinator of the university’s creative writing program and helps organize Oglethorpe Out Loud, an annual poetry event that showcases contemporary creative voices.
Reflecting on his creative process, Haynes says, “During the semester, my writing is slapdash and reckless. It’s only at the end of the academic year that I can fully turn toward my own work. When I’m unfettered, I prefer to write in the morning. Give me a clean, well-lighted place, a pen, scratch paper, and time to daydream, and good things can happen.”
