George Saunders wins inaugural Folio Prize for story collection ‘Tenth of December’

LONDON – American writer George Saunders has won the 40,000 pound ($67,000) Folio Prize for literature with his humorous and disturbing short-story collection “Tenth of December.”

The chair of the judging panel, poet Lavinia Greenlaw, said Monday that Saunders’ “darkly playful” stories explore “the human self under ordinary and extraordinary pressure.”

Saunders beat seven other finalists, including Kent Haruf, Rachel Kushner, Anne Carson and Eimear McBride.

Saunders has won acclaim for his satirically edged short stories, and last week won the Story Prize for short fiction.

He’s probably best known outside literary circles for a commencement speech to Syracuse University’s class of 2013, whose key message was: “Try to be kinder.” It went viral on the Internet and will soon be published as a book.