The AIR MAIL Tom Wolfe Literary Prizes, Presented by Montblanc

The inaugural AIR MAIL prizes for fiction and reportage will be awarded to two of the year’s most promising young authors. The prizes are named after Tom Wolfe, the vanguard of New Journalism—and devotee of the Montblanc Meisterstück pen—whose wryness, imagination, and flair make his name a byword for the best that fiction and nonfiction writing have to offer. And they are brought to life with the help of the master calligrapher Bernard Maisner.

Each prize will be accompanied by a $10,000 honorarium to put toward furthering their craft. Winners will be announced in the fall, and celebrated at a dinner at the Waverly Inn.

Wes Anderson

Wes Anderson is a director and screenwriter known for his films including The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), The Darjeeling Limited (2007), and, most recently, The Phoenician Scheme. He lives in England.

Graydon Carter

With Alessandra Stanley, Graydon Carter is a Co-Editor of AIR MAIL. After founding Spy magazine with Kurt Andersen in 1986, Carter edited Vanity Fair for 25 years, from 1992 until 2017. He lives in New York.

Lena Dunham

Lena Dunham is an American writer and director known for the hit 2012 series Girls and the 2022 film Catherine Called Birdy. Her latest TV show, Too Much, is airing on Netflix now. Dunham lives in London.

Lisa Taddeo

Lisa Taddeo is the author of the nonfiction book Three Women (2019), which she adapted for Starz; the novel Animal (2021), which she is adapting for MGM; and the story collection Ghost Lover (2022).

Alexandra Wolfe

Alexandra Wolfe, the daughter of Tom Wolfe, is a former W.S.J. staff writer and the author of the nonfiction book Valley of the Gods (2017). Currently a freelance journalist, she lives in New York.

Emma Roberts

With Karah Preiss, Emma Roberts is the Co-Founder of Belletrist, as well as an actress (known for her roles in Palo Alto and American Horror Story) and avid rare-book collector. She lives in Los Angeles.

Karah Preiss

With Emma Roberts, Karah Preiss is the Co-Founder of Belletrist, the online reading community and production company behind the hit 2022 show Tell Me Lies. She lives in New York.

John McWhorter

John McWhorter teaches linguistics and music history at Columbia and writes for the New York Times. He is the author of several non-fiction books, including The Power of Babel (2003), and lives in New York.

Alexa Schilz

Alexa Schilz is the Director of Writing Culture & Brand Strategy at Montblanc. “This partnership stays true to Montblanc’s mission to inspire people to put pen to paper,” she says.

Flak Catchers

A Wolfe in Chic Clothing

The Man in the White Suit