Author Sherman Alexie has won the 2010 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction for "War Dances," his latest collection of short stories.

Alexie, who is Spokane and Coeur d'Alene, was selected out of field of nearly 350 works. The judges said his work was selected because it touches on a wide range of issues -- from racism to substance abuse to war.

"All the heartbreaking ways we don’t live now—this is the caring, eye-opening beauty of this rollicking, bittersweet gem of a book," Al Young, one of the judges, said in a press release.

Alexie will be presented with the award, which comes with a $15,000 prize, on May 8 in Washington, D.C.

Get the Story:
Sherman Alexie wins 2010 Pen/Faulkner fiction prize for 'War Dances' (The Washington Post 3/24)

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