Congratulations to the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop alumni Jay Hopler (MFA 1997), Salvatore Scibona (MFA 1999), and Vu Tran (MFA 2002), three of the ten recipients of the 2009 Whiting Writers' Awards.

The awards, which are $50,000 each, have been given annually since 1985 to writers of exceptional talent and promise in early career. Denis Johnson, Jorie Graham, Michael Cunningham, and Mark Doty are among the past Whiting Award recipients who have gone on to achieve acclaim.

For more information the authors or the award, please visit The Whiting Foundation.