UNC alumnus Ben Fountain ’80 recently joined Professor Hilary Lithgow for a short reading from his novel Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (version with footnotes) followed by an informal conversation about veterans, the media, and military appreciation at sporting events. The next day, he was awarded the 2024 Thomas Wolfe Prize, awarded to writers with distinguished bodies of work.
Beyond Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, which offers a satirical lens on American patriotism and media portrayal of war, Fountain has explored political and societal issues in many of this other works, reflecting his ongoing interest in themes of national identity, civic duty, and political upheaval.