August 29, 2005
David Rice wins awards from Alfredo Cisneros Del Moral Foundation
The Alfredo Cisneros Del Moral Foundation is pleased to announce the winners of the 2005 Awards. Texas writers Cristina Henríquez and David Rice were each awarded a grant for $5,l56.
Cristina Henríquez is awaiting the publication of her first book, Come Together, Fall Apart: a novella and stories, forthcoming from Riverhead Books. Her short story "Ashes" was recently featured in The New Yorker, July 4, 2005 issue. She is writer-in-residence at the Writer's Garret Writers in the Schools Program in Dallas.
David Rice currently resides in Austin, but the landscape of his stories are set in the Rio Grande Valley where he was born. His books include Crazy Loco, which won the "Best Books for Young Readers 2001 Award" and Give the Pig A Chance and Other Stories.
The Alfredo Cisneros Del Moral Foundation was created in 2000 to honor the memory of Sandra Cisneros' father, an upholsterer. "My father lived his life as an example of generosity and honest labor," Cisneros has written, "Even as he warned us to save our centavitos, he was always giving away his own. A meticulous craftsman, he would sooner rip the seams of a cushion apart and do it over, than put his name on an item that wasn't up to his high standards. I especially wanted to honor his memory by an award showcasing writers who are equally proud of their own craft."
The Alfredo Cisneros Del Moral Foundation invites a panel of nominators to recommend writers from across the writing disciplines. For the past five years the awards have focused only on writers from Béxar County. This year the Awards expanded to include writers throughout the state. The 2005 judges were poet/musician Joy Harjo, essayist/humorist Marion Winik, and bookseller/literacy-activist Ruebén Martínez. [The Foundation does not accept individual solicitations.]
Sandra Cisneros has written: "In my own experience, grants not only allowed me time to write, but, more importantly, confirmed I was indeed a writer at precarious moments when my own faith in my art wobbled." It is her hope this award will strengthen the resolve of the award winners and further them along in their careers.
