Jonathan Lethem wins MacArthur "Genius" grant

Holy crap! The 2005 MacArthur Fellows grants have been announced, and Jonathan Lethem got one! Only 25 Fellows were selected by the non-profit MacArthur Foundation "for their creativity, originality, and potential", and will each be given $500,000 over the next five years - no strings attached. Lethem has been one of my favorite authors since his brilliant 1994 debut novel Gun, with Occasional Music, and most recently wrote 2003's highly acclaimed Fortress of Solitude. (His other novels include Amnesia Moon, As She Climbed Across the Table, Girl in Landscape, and Motherless Brooklyn.)