Pulitzer Prize-winning author, screenwriter and former USC Libraries Scripter Award winner alum Michael Chabon has captured the 2009 Scripter Literary Achievement Award.

Chabon will accept the prize at the annual Scripter gala Jan. 30 at Doheny Memorial Library.

Often cited as one of the foremost talents in contemporary American letters, Chabon is the author of seven novels, two volumes of short stories and a recent collection of essays. His first book, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, originally written as his master’s thesis at UC Irvine, became a New York Times best seller.

Chabon followed Pittsburgh with Wonder Boys, which was adapted for the big screen and for which he won the 2001 Scripter Award. The same year, he won the Pulitzer Prize for The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. An adaptation of his most recent novel, The Yiddish Policemen’s Union, is currently under development by Joel and Ethan Coen and is scheduled for release in 2010.

“I am delighted to have been singled out for this honor,” Chabon said. “I consider myself fortunate to be able to share in the great tradition that the Scripter Award both recognizes and exemplifies.”

Dean Catherine Quinlan and the Friends of the USC Libraries established the Scripter Literary Achievement Award in 2007 to recognize writers who have made a significant and lasting impact on the art of cinematic adaptation. Steven Zaillian, screenwriter of Gangs of New York and Schindler’s List, won the inaugural prize in 2008.

“Michael Chabon works with equal measures of inventiveness and emotion,” Quinlan said. “His fiction is intellectually playful and transforms history into new worlds. The USC Libraries are proud to honor Mr. Chabon’s ingenuity, his accomplishments in many literary forms and his clear respect for uncovering new ways of knowing.”

For tickets to the 21st annual Scripter award ceremony, call (213) 740-2328 or e-mail scripter@usc.edu. Information is also available at http://scripter.usc.edu