Fiction writer Benjamin Percy, assistant professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP), received the prestigious Anne Powers Award for his second book, "Refresh, Refresh," published by Graywolf Press. Percy was one of 14 Wisconsin writers honored by the Council for Wisconsin Writers for work published in 2007.

"Refresh, Refresh" is a collection of short stories depicting the lives of rural Oregon’s mostly poor communities impacted by the war in Iraq. The screenplay, "Refresh, Refresh," accepted by Robert Redford’s Sundance Institute, is a collaboration between Percy and filmmaker James Ponsoldt.

The book has been reviewed in The New York Times, Publisher’s Weekly, and in many other publications and is now in its second printing. It is available at Amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and through many local booksellers.

Percy teaches creative writing, composition, and literature. He is a winner of the prestigious $10,000 Plimpton Prize for Fiction. Percy received his bachelor’s degree from Brown University and his master’s from Southern Illinois University. Previously he taught at Marquette University.

Author of "The Language of Elk," Percy’s fiction also appears in Esquire, The Paris Review, The Chicago Tribune, and elsewhere. Percy is already working on another book of short stories as well as a novel. Benjamin and his wife, Lisa, and their young son reside in Stevens Point.

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