Isabel Allende Receives the Bodley Medal

Author Isabel Allende has received the 2025 Bodley Medal, awarded by the Bodleian Libraries at Oxford University. The original medal was created in 1646 to honor Sir Thomas Bodley, who rebuilt the first public library at Oxford. Since 2002, replicas have been given annually by the library to “individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the worlds of books and literature, libraries, media and communications, science and philanthropy.” Isabel Allende, whose work includes The House of Spirits, The Long Petal of the Sea, and The Japanese Lover, is a long-time champion of magical realism.

Allende was presented with the medal on February 12 at the Morgan Library and Museum in New York. 

For more information, see the Bodleian Libraries website.

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