The American University of Iraq, Sulaimani (AUIS), is proud to announce that Dr. Marie LaBrosse, the Director of Kashkul, the center for arts and culture at the American University in Iraq, Sulaimani, has been honored with the prestigious 2024 PEN/Jean Stein Grant for Literary Oral History. This distinguished award celebrates outstanding literary nonfiction works that utilize oral history to illuminate significant events, individuals, places, or movements. Since their inception in 2017, these awards have highlighted the importance of oral history in preserving cultural narratives. Each grant comes with a cash prize of $15,000.

This year's esteemed panel of judges selected Dr. Marie LaBrosse's work "Preservation Under Fire" for its profound exploration of cultural preservation amidst conflict. Dr. LaBrosse’s book offers a vivid portrayal of perseverance and the human spirit, spanning fifty years and traversing three major cities in Iraq, each representing different ethnic groups.

"Preservation Under Fire" introduces readers to the dedicated preservationists who have defied tremendous odds to safeguard their communities' collective cultural identity. Through hundreds of hours of interviews and collaborations with various archives across Iraq, Dr. LaBrosse sheds light on the intricate relationships between memory and its artifacts and the crucial role of culture in shaping individual and collective identities.

Her extensive reportage from Baghdad, Slemani, Shingal, and other contested areas over the past two decades provides a rare and vibrant insight into the region’s cultural fabric, often overshadowed by conflict narratives.

Dr. LaBrosse will be dedicating the financial prize to the communities that made the "Preservation Under Fire" book possible. She will be donating it to capacity-building programs for regional professionals in preservation to help advance their careers. AUIS will facilitate PDI English courses for preservation specialists with the hope of advancing their academic English to increase their chances for graduate school in the West.

AUIS celebrates this remarkable achievement and looks forward to the continued impact of Dr. LaBrosse’s work on cultural preservation and literary oral history.