Carson City author finalist for major literary award

Carson City author Robert Leonard Reid is a finalist for one of the nation’s top literary awards.

Reid — the author of five books, four works for the theater and more than 100 magazine articles, short stories and essays — is one of five writers nominated for the 2018 Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay.

The award is presented annually by PEN America, the major writers’ organization in the United States.

Reid was singled out for his widely praised essay collection, “Because It Is So Beautiful: Unraveling the Mystique of the American West,” published in 2017 by Counterpoint Press.

Reid has received two Artist Fellowships in Literary Arts from the Nevada Arts Council. In 2009, he was honored with a Silver Pen Award from the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame.

The Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award is given for “a book of essays published during the previous year that exemplifies the dignity and esteem that the essay form imparts to literature.” It carries with it a $10,000 prize. Past winners include Annie Dillard, Christopher Hitchens, Robert Haas, Marilynne Robinson and Ta-Nehisi Coates.

The awards ceremony is Feb. 20 at Skirball Center at New York University in New York City.

The Nevada Arts Council annually awards Artist Fellowships in Literary Arts of up to $5,000 to select working authors. Information and requirements about the fellowships can be found at http://nvculture.org/nevadaartscouncil/grants/5365-2/artist-fellowship-grant-fel/.