Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author Marilynne Robinson to Receive the 2027 St. Louis Literary Award

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author Marilynne Robinson to Receive the 2027 St. Louis Literary Award

ST. LOUIS - Pulitzer Prize-winning author Marilynne Robinson will be awarded the St. Louis Literary Award from Saint Louis University. Robinson will come to St. Louis in April 2027 to accept the award.

"The St. Louis Literary Award selection committee is thrilled to select Marilynne Robinson as the 59th award recipient, because her body of work - across fiction, essays, criticism, and public thought - represents exactly the kind of literary and humanistic achievement this award was created to honor," said Edward Ibur, St. Louis Literary Award executive director.

Robinson is the author of "Gilead," winner of the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Critics Circle Award; "Home" (2008), winner of the Orange Prize and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize; "Lila" (2014), winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award; and "Jack" (2020), a New York Times bestseller.

Her first novel, "Housekeeping" (1980), won the PEN/Hemingway Award.

"Her writing has shaped generations of readers through its moral and intellectual depth, spiritual inquiry, and extraordinary attention to memory, community, grace, and the complexities of American life," Ibur said. "Few contemporary writers have contributed so meaningfully to conversations surrounding literature, faith, democracy, education, and human dignity while maintaining such remarkable artistic distinction."

Robinson's nonfiction books include "The Givenness of Things" (2015), "When I Was a Child I Read Books" (2012), "Absence of Mind" (2010), "The Death of Adam" (1998), and "Mother Country" (1989).

She is the recipient of a 2012 National Humanities Medal, awarded by President Barack Obama, for "her grace and intelligence in writing," and the inaugural Lewis H. Lapham Award for Literary Excellence from Harper's Magazine (2025).

Robinson will receive the St. Louis Literary Award on April 1, 2027, at the Sheldon Concert Hall. A craft talk will be held April 2 on the campus of Saint Louis University.

The St. Louis Literary Award is presented annually by Saint Louis University and has become one of the top literary prizes in the country. The award honors a writer who deepens our insight into the human condition and expands the scope of our compassion. Some of the most influential writers of the 20th and 21st centuries have come to Saint Louis University to accept the honor, including Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie, Eudora Welty, John Updike, Saul Bellow, August Wilson, Stephen Sondheim, Zadie Smith and Tom Wolfe.

Center for Literary and Creative Arts

The Saint Louis University Center for Literary and Creative Arts fosters inclusive, interdisciplinary, and innovative programming where literature and creative expression thrive. Guided by Jesuit values, the Center amplifies diverse voices, cultivates transformative learning experiences, and connects students, faculty, and the broader community through public discourse, research, and partnerships. By championing the literary and creative arts across disciplines, the CLCA inspires critical dialogue, nurtures emerging artists and thinkers, and enriches the cultural life of St. Louis and beyond-preparing students with the communication, critical thinking, and cultural literacy skills essential for leadership in a complex world.

Saint Louis University

Founded in 1818, Saint Louis University is one of the nation's oldest and most prestigious Catholic institutions. Rooted in Jesuit values and its pioneering history as the first university west of the Mississippi River, SLU offers more than 13,500 students a rigorous, transformative education of the whole person. At the core of the University's diverse community of scholars is SLU's service-focused mission, which challenges and prepares students to make the world a better, more just place.