Inside the Mirror: A Novel by Parul Kapur receives Interlochen's Pattis Family Foundation Creative Arts Book Award

Dreams in Double Time: On Race, Freedom, and Bebop by Jonathan Leal and My Life in Paper: Adventures in Ephemera by Beth Kephart were selected as runners-up.

As the winning author, Kapur will receive the $25,000 cash prize, conduct a multi-day residency at Interlochen Arts Academy, and take part in a public event moderated by New York Times best-selling author Doug Stanton as part of Traverse City's National Writers Series.

INTERLOCHEN, Mich., Dec. 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Inside the Mirror: A Novel by Parul Kapur has been selected as the winner of Interlochen's Pattis Family Foundation Creative Arts Book Award, a $25,000 prize that recognizes the best literature in the creative arts field. Dreams in Double Time: On Race, Freedom, and Bebop by Jonathan Leal and My Life in Paper: Adventures in Ephemera by Beth Kephart were selected as finalists; each author will receive a $2,500 cash prize.

"This year's pool of submissions impressed us immensely, but by the end of our deliberations three books identified themselves as our top titles," said Selection Committee Chair and Interlochen Arts Academy Dean of Academics Eric Blackburn. "Jonathan Leal's Dreams in Double Time–a deeply researched and lyrically written exploration of bebop as a space for resistance, disruption, and dreaming new futures into being–and Beth Kephart's My Life in Paper–an inviting and compelling memoir highlighting the ephemeral but deeply meaningful nature of paper as a means for remembering and forgetting, creating and eliding–both distinguished themselves as very deserving finalists for this award."

"Ultimately, though, the committee agreed that no book better captured the spirit of the award or left a more memorable mark on us as readers than Inside the Mirror by Parul Kapur. The committee praised the novel's success at the level of character and narrative, its accomplished approach to historical setting–Bombay (present-day Mumbai) in the 1950s–and its insistence on the centrality of artistic expression both to individuals as well as to communities and nations. It is a genuinely remarkable book."

As the recipient of the award, Kapur will receive the $25,000 cash prize and conduct a multi-day residency at Interlochen Arts Academy from April 8–10, 2026. During the residency, Kapur will participate in an awards ceremony and a public event moderated by the #1 New York Times best-selling author Doug Stanton in nearby Traverse City as part of the 2026 National Writers Series on April 8, 2026. Stanton is a co-founder of NWS and a graduate of the Interlochen's Creative Writing program. Among other residency activities are a presentation to the Interlochen Arts Academy community, master classes, and an interview at Interlochen Public Radio.

"This award creates a bridge between extraordinary writers and the young artists who are shaping their own creative voices at Interlochen," said Trey Devey, president of Interlochen Center for the Arts. "By spending time on campus, the author gives our students a behind-the-scenes look at how ideas become stories and how personal experience, imagination, and craft all come together on the page."

Established by The Pattis Family Foundation in October 2023, The Pattis Family Foundation Creative Arts Book Award honors fiction or nonfiction books that inspire, illuminate, or exemplify the creative process in fields such as creative writing, dance, film and new media, music, theatre, and visual arts. Nominations are now open for the 2026 award. To learn more about the award—including eligibility requirements and selection criteria—or to nominate a book, visit https://www.interlochen.org/pattis.

About The Pattis Family Foundation
With a history originating from book and magazine publishing, The Pattis Family Foundation of Highland Park, Illinois, actively supports programs that elevate the value of the written word and intellectual inquiry. In addition to The Pattis Family Foundation Creative Arts Book Award at Interlochen, The Pattis Family Foundation Chicago Book Award is awarded annually with The Newberry Library and The Pattis Family Foundation Global Cities Award is awarded annually in association with Metropolis in Barcelona, Spain. Similar book awards in partnership with other leading organizations and other subject areas will be announced in the future. The Pattis Family Foundation also supports various health, educational, and cultural initiatives as well as programs that help bridge the opportunity gap for talented students with limited financial resources.

About Interlochen Center for the Arts
The nonprofit Interlochen Center for the Arts is a recipient of the National Medal of Arts and the only organization in the world that brings together a 3,000-student summer camp program; a 500-student fine arts boarding high school; opportunities for hundreds of adults to engage in fulfilling artistic and creative programs; two 24-hour listener-supported public radio services (classical music and news); more than 600 arts presentations annually by students, faculty and world-renowned guest artists; and a global alumni base spanning nine decades, including leaders in the arts and all other endeavors. For information, visit Interlochen online at www.interlochen.org.

About the National Writers Series
Founded in 2010, the National Writers Series is a year-round book festival that has hosted more than 300 authors in Traverse City, Michigan, including New York Times bestselling authors, McArthur "Genius Grant" winners, and National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize winners. Most events take place in the gorgeous, historic Traverse City Opera House. Find out more at https://nationalwritersseries.org/.

SOURCE Interlochen Center for the Arts