Zadie Smith to receive PEN America literary service award

By HILLEL ITALIE
AP National Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Author Zadie Smith is this year’s winner of the PEN/Audible Literary Service Award, an honor previously given to Toni Morrison, Stephen Sondheim and Margaret Atwood among others. The PEN literary award is given to “an important writer whose work has drawn a wide audience and who helps us understand the human condition in original and powerful ways.” Smith is known for novels “White Teeth” and “NW” and such essay collections as “Changing My Mind” and “Intimations.” She recently contributed the introduction to a stand-alone book edition of Morrison’s short story “Recitatif.”