April 22, 2025, New York, NY—Christopher Merrill, director of the International Writing Program (IWP) at the University of Iowa and an award-winning poet, writer, and editor, will receive the 2025 Ottaway Award for the Promotion of International Literature, Words Without Borders announced today. The award will be presented at a ceremony on June 3 in New York City. A recording of the event will be made available on the Words Without Borders website.
“As we celebrate the twelfth anniversary of the Ottaway Award, we are particularly delighted to recognize Christopher Merrill and the vital work he has done to promote international literature as director of the IWP over the past quarter century,” said WWB’s board chair, Samantha Schnee.
The Ottaway Award recognizes Christopher Merrill’s extraordinary work as an advocate of international literature who has advanced its reach in the anglophone world through cultural diplomacy and by uplifting international writers. Founded in 1967, the International Writing Program is a cornerstone of global literary exchange, awarding Iowa City residencies to talented writers from around the world, bringing international authors into classrooms, and introducing American writers to other cultures. Over 1,600 writers from more than 160 countries have been in residence at IWP, including three Nobel laureates in Literature: Han Kang, Orhan Pamuk, and Mo Yan.
Since joining IWP as director in 2000, Merrill has significantly expanded the program by increasing the number of countries that send writers to IWP, facilitating the translation of international writers, and personally leading workshops and reading tours abroad. As director of IWP, Merrill has conducted cultural diplomacy missions to more than fifty countries. He served on the US National Commission for UNESCO from 2011 to 2018, and in April of 2012, President Barack Obama appointed him to the National Council on the Humanities. Merrill also led the initiative that resulted in Iowa City being named a UNESCO City of Literature in 2008—at the time, the third UNESCO City of Literature anywhere and the first in North America.
An accomplished writer, Merrill has published eight collections of poetry, including Watch Fire, for which he received the Lavan Younger Poets Award from the Academy of American Poets, and On the Road to Lviv. He is also the author of many edited volumes and translations and six books of nonfiction, among them Only the Nails Remain: Scenes from the Balkan Wars; Things of the Hidden God: Journey to the Holy Mountain; and The Tree of the Doves: Ceremony, Expedition, War. His writings have been translated into nearly forty languages, and his honors include a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres from the French government, numerous translation awards, and fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial and Ingram Merrill Foundations.
Named in honor of the first chair of Words Without Borders, Jim Ottaway, Jr., the Ottaway Award recognizes an individual whose work and activism have advanced WWB’s mission of promoting cultural understanding through the publication and promotion of international literature. Past awardees include Marcia Lynx Qualey, Daniel Hahn, Naveen Kishore, the late Edith Grossman, Chad W. Post, Jill Schoolman, Barbara Epler, Sara Bershtel, the late Carol Brown Janeway, and Drenka Willen.
About Words Without Borders
Founded in 2003, Words Without Borders cultivates global awareness by offering unparalleled access to international writing in English translation. Reaching readers and students worldwide, its website and programs provide a vital platform for today’s international writers and literary translators. WWB’s programs include its prize-winning digital magazine of literature in translation, the WWB Campus education program for students and educators, public literary events, and support and visibility for the field of translation through fellowships, awards, and grants, as well as digital marketing activities. Words Without Borders is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
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