Tom Wolfe’s white suits and Montblanc fountain pens are having a moment again, thanks to Graydon Carter’s new literary prize.

Leave it to Graydon Carter to add a dash of style to the literary scene. His weekly digital magazine Air Mail has teamed with Montblanc to launch the Tom Wolfe Prize for Fiction and Reportage, an award honoring emerging writers with the panache Wolfe brought to every page.
As tributes go, this one is as chic as they come. The late Tom Wolfe, pioneer of New Journalism and author of The Bonfire of the Vanities, was known for his sartorial splendor (pristine white suits by the dozen) as much as for his razor-sharp prose. Fittingly, he wrote much of that prose longhand with a Montblanc Meisterstück fountain pen. A partnership with Montblanc on this prize is a natural fit, call it writing culture meets couture.

The prize will crown two rising stars (one in fiction, one in nonfiction) who channel Wolfe’s imaginative and flamboyant spirit. Each winner takes home $10,000 to further their craft. To select them, Carter has enlisted a star-studded committee including Wes Anderson, Lena Dunham, Belletrist co-founders Emma Roberts and Karah Preiss, John McWhorter, Lisa Taddeo, Montblanc’s Alexa Schilz, and Wolfe’s daughter Alexandra.

Despite its august name, this prize is anything but stuffy. Carter envisions a vibe that’s “serious yet celebratory,” true to Wolfe’s blend of elegance and wit. And of course, any salute to Wolfe must nod to his signature look. The man didn’t just wear white suits, he practically patented the style, keeping 24 custom suits in rotation to dodge ink mishaps (even The Simpsons gave his monochrome swagger a shout-out).
The Tom Wolfe Prize winners will be announced this fall and fêted at New York’s Waverly Inn. In the meantime, Air Mail is welcoming nominations via email at litprize@airmail.news. Consider it your chance to help script the next chapter of literary style.