Spokane writer Shawn Vestal won the $25,000 PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Fiction on Monday evening for his collection of short stories “Godforsaken Idaho.” Vestal’s stories, printed by Amazon’s publishing unit Little A/New Harvest, “dare to charge into the well-trodden arena of the hapless male and make that subject fresh again,” according to judges. Vestal’s column is published three times a week in The Spokesman-Review. On his way to a reception in New York after winning, Vestal said he was shocked. “I was very certain, and I didn’t feel that I was going to win,” he said. “I didn’t prepare a speech”/SR. More here.

Question: Have you read Shawn's "Godforsaken Idaho"?