The AIR MAIL Tom Wolfe Literary Prizes, Presented by Montblanc

“Everybody, everybody everywhere, has his own movie going, his own scenario, and everybody is acting his movie out like mad, only most people don’t know that is what they’re trapped by, their little script.” Tom Wolfe wrote this more than half a century ago, in his book The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. Since then, the world has expanded and splintered and niche-ified itself in ways even Wolfe—who was certainly the leading man in his own movie, strolling down Madison Avenue in a white three-piece suit and Homburg hat as the culture wars of the 60s raged on—might not have imagined. The inaugural AIR MAIL prizes for fiction and reportage, awarded to two of the year’s most promising authors, were born out of a desire to establish some semblance of togetherness in this singularly isolating age.

The prizes are named after 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 is accompanied by a $10,000 honorarium to put toward furthering the writers’ craft.

Vincenzo Latronico

”I thought constantly about Tom Wolfe’s New Journalism in the years in which my novel Perfection took form, and ultimately understood I had to reverse its terms, writing a fictional story dressed up in the form of non-fiction.”

Meghan Daum

”It’s especially meaningful to be honored in Tom Wolfe’s name, since the spirit of 1970s–era New Journalism played a huge part in my development as a writer—and in wanting to be a writer in the first place.”

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