Spike Lee will receive the 20th annual Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, which carries a reward of $300,000.

The Gish Prize Trust announced the selection Wednesday. Selection committee chairman Darren Walker said Lee was chosen "for his brilliance and unwavering courage in using film to challenge conventional thinking." Lee said he was familiar with Lillian Gish as an actress, but he hadn't heard of the award until he was called "out of the blue." The prize will be presented to Lee at the Museum of Modern Art on Oct. 30. Past honorees include Bob Dylan, Arthur Miller and Frank Gehry. The prize named for the silent film stars is one of the largest and most prestigious awards in the arts.

Kerry Washington named best dressed

"Scandal" star Kerry Washington is the world's best-dressed woman, according to People magazine. Washington, 36, has proved a red-carpet risk-taker, wearing up-and-coming designers and making atypical choices — such as a crystal-covered coral Miu Miu gown for the Oscars. At Tuesday's pre-Emmy reception, she wore a hot-pink cocktail frock. Unlike her character on ABC's "Scandal," Washington says she doesn't wear many power-broker pantsuits. Washington, selected by the magazine editors, works with stylist Erin Walsh. People then tapped other tastemakers to pick their favorites, including Jennifer Lawrence for her high-fashion style, Jessica Chastain specifically for her red-carpet looks, Kate Bosworth for street style and Zoe Saldana for her denim style. Photographer Nigel Barker picked It Girl Lily Collins for best up-and-coming style.

national book awards: No Minnesota writers made the National Book Award long list for nonfiction, but it's a stellar list nonetheless, including a book about the women of the Nazi regime, a biography of Benjamin Franklin's wife, and an expose on the Church of Scientology. The long list for fiction will be announced Thursday morning. The finalists will be named on Oct. 16, with the winners in November. Here's the long list for nonfiction: "Finding Florida," by T.D. Allman; "Facing the Wave," by Gretel Ehrlich; "The Wolf and the Watchman," by Scott C. Johnson; "The Book of Ages: The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin," by Jill Lepore; "Hitler's Furies: German Women in the Nazi Killing Fields" by Wendy Lower; "Freedom National: The Destruction of Slavery," by James Oakes; "The Unwinding," by George Packer; "The Internal Enemy," by Alan Taylor; "Duke," by Terry Teachout; "Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief," by Lawrence Wright.

LAURIE HERTZEL and News Services