A good year for author Dybek

Author Stuart Dybek, already a winner this week of a MacArthur “genius” grant, is this year’s recipient of the $30,000 Rea Award for “originality and influence” on the short story.

Dybek, 65, is a Chicago native known for such story collections as “The Coast of Chicago” and “I Sailed With Magellan.” His previous honors include the PEN/Bernard Malamud Prize and four O’Henry awards.

The Rea Award, announced Tuesday, was established in 1986 by Michael M. Rea, a publisher and collector of first-edition short stories who died in 1996. Previous winners include Ann Beattie, Richard Ford and Alice Munro.

On Monday, Dybek was one of 24 “genius” fellows announced by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Each will receive $500,000 over the next five years.