WPI English professor and acclaimed Shakespeare scholar Michelle Ephraim has been named one of two recipients of the Friends of American Writers 2025 Literature Award for her memoir Green World: A Tragicomic Memoir of Love & Shakespeare (University of Massachusetts Press, 2024).
This national literary honor recognizes outstanding new works by emerging American authors. Ephraim will be celebrated at an awards luncheon in Chicago on May 2, where she will also deliver a speech on her writing and creative journey.
“To get national recognition with a literary award is a dream come true for any writer,” said Ephraim. “I spent many hours, days, weeks—years, even!—crafting this book. More than anything, this award is about the artistic quality of the work, and that’s exactly what I want to deliver to my readers.”
In Green World—a term used by literary critics to describe the magical, restorative spaces in Shakespeare’s comedies where characters seek escape—Ephraim interweaves her personal story with her lifelong engagement with Shakespeare.
Ephraim’s work has already garnered critical acclaim; Green World won the 2023 Juniper Prize for Creative Nonfiction.