Ruth Ellen Kocher, a professor of English and director of the creative writing program at the University of Colorado at Boulder, has been named a winner of the PEN Open Book Award. The award, previously called the Beyond Margin Award, honors authors of color for book-length projects with a theme of racial or ethnic diversity. Preference is given to works of fiction, literary nonfiction, biography, and poetry.
Professor Kocher was honored for her collection of poems, domina Un/blued (Tupelo Press, 2013). She will receive the award, and a $5,000 cash prize, at a ceremony in New York City on September 29.
Professor Kocher has taught at the University of Colorado since 2006. She has also taught at the University of Missouri and Southern Illinois University.
Dr. Kocher is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University. She holds a master of fine arts degree in creative writing and a Ph.D. in American literature from Arizona State University.
