J. Robert Lennon Wins 1997 Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Award

Posted on January 21, 1998

Barnes & Noble announced that J. Robert Lennon has been named the winner of the 1997 Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Award for his debut novel, The Light of Falling Stars, published by Riverhead Books in August 1997.

This literary award recognizes the work of a first-time American novelist featured in the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers program during the 1997 calendar year. The award carries a prize of $5,000.

In 1997, the Discover Great New Writers program featured the work of 78 new writers, with 34 of those authors qualifying for the Discover Award. 1997 marks the fifth anniversary of the Award and Lennon joins the ranks of an exceptional group of authors. Past winners of the Award are: 1996 winner Elizabeth McCracken for her novel The Giant's House; 1995 winner Chang-rae Lee for his novel Native Speaker; David Guterson for his 1994 novel Snow Falling on Cedars; and Sandra Benitez, the first recipient of the award in 1993 for her novel A Place Where the Sea Remembers.

J. Robert Lennon is 27 years old. He studied creative writing at the University of Montana and currently resides in Ithaca, N.Y., with his wife and son. The Light of Falling Stars, which was published in hardcover in August 1997 and will be available in a trade paperback in March 1998, was awarded First Place in the General Trade Fiction category for both the book and the jacket at this year's New York Book Show, sponsored by the Bookbinders Guild of New York.