PEN America is honored to announce the Finalists for the 2026 Literary Awards. Our awards are juried by panels of esteemed authors, editors, translators, and critics — and this year, seven of them are previous PEN America Literary Award Winners. They are all committed to recognizing their contemporaries, from promising debut writers to those who have already established a presence in their field. The 2026 Literary Awards will confer nearly $350,000 to writers and translators.
This year’s Finalists reside in at least 20 different states as well as multiple countries. Many of them have worked as teachers and professors, and not just of English; the finalists also include environmental studies, anthropology, and neurology professors. Nature appeared often on the covers of the titles, with seven featuring trees, plants, or flowers and five more showcasing birds. One of the books is a publishing imprint’s debut title. And one of the authors is 88 years old. Spanning fiction, poetry, essays, translations, and more, these works showcase the stunning breadth and depth of literary excellence emerging today.
We hope you can join us at the 2026 Literary Awards Ceremony on March 31, 2026!
PEN/Jean Stein Book Award ($75,000)
To a book-length work of any genre for its originality, merit, and impact, which has broken new ground by reshaping the boundaries of its form and signaling strong potential for lasting influence.
Judges: Forrest Gander, Pam Houston, Kawai Strong Washburn
The Devil Is a Southpaw, Brandon Hobson (HarperCollins)
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Things in Nature Merely Grow, Yiyun Li (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
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SURVIVA: A Future Ancestral Field Guide, Cannupa Hanska Luger (Ayin Press)
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Into the Hush, Arthur Sze (Copper Canyon Press)
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The Pelican Child, Joy Williams (Penguin Random House)
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PEN Open Book Award ($10,000)
To an exceptional book-length work of any literary genre by an author of color.
Judges: Reyna Grande, Thirii Myo Kyaw Myint, Asako Serizawa, Michael X. Wang
The Devil Three Times, Rickey Fayne (Hachette Book Group)
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Ibis, Justin Haynes (Abrams)
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Natural History, Brandon Kilbourne (Graywolf Press)
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Medicine River, Mary Annette Pember (Penguin Random House)
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No Rhododendron, Samyak Shertok (University of Pittsburgh Press)
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PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Short Story Collection ($25,000)
To an author whose debut collection of short stories represents distinguished literary achievement and suggests great promise for future work.
Judges: Sidik Fofana, Aimee LaBrie, Jasmine Sawers
Show Me Where the Hurt Is, Hayden Casey (Split/Lip Press)
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Bear County, Michigan, John Counts (Northwestern University Press/TriQuarterly)
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Guatemalan Rhapsody, Jared Lemus (Ecco)
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Lost in the Forest of Mechanical Birds, Christian Moody (Dzanc Books)
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There’s Nothing Left For You Here, Allegra Solomon (Four Way Books)
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PEN/Voelcker Award for Poetry Collection ($5,000)
To a poet whose distinguished collection of poetry represents a notable and accomplished literary presence.
Judges: Dorianne Laux, Tracie Morris, dg nanouk okpik, Paisley Rekdal, Craig Morgan Teicher
Death Does Not End at the Sea, Gbenga Adesina (University of Nebraska Press)
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Green of All Heads, Aracelis Girmay (BOA Editions)
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Penitential Cries, Susan Howe (New Directions Publishing)
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New and Collected Hell, Shane McCrae (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
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The Seeds, Cecily Parks (Alice James Books)
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PEN Award for Poetry in Translation ($3,000)
For a book-length translation of poetry from any language into English.
Judges: Miriam Calleja, J. Kates, Alta L. Price
Concerning the Angels, Rafael Alberti (Four Way Books)
Translated from Spanish by John Murillo
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I Have Brought You a Severed Hand, Ghayath Almadhoun (Action Books)
Translated from Arabic by Catherine Cobham
Asterism Books
For now I am sitting here growing transparent, Yau Ching (Zephyr Press)
Translated from Chinese by Chenxin Jiang
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Theory of the Voice and Dream, Liliana Ponce (World Poetry Books)
Translated from Spanish by Michael Martin Shea
Asterism Books
At the Edge: Selected Political Poems of Marina Tsvetaeva, Marina Tsvetaeva (Green Linden Press)
Translated from Russian by Margaree Little
Asterism Books
PEN Translation Prize ($3,000)
For a book-length translation of prose from any language into English.
Judges: Jenny Bhatt, Ronald Meyer, Damion Searls
The Leucothea Dialogues, Cesare Pavese
Translated from Italian by Minna Zallman Proctor (Archipelago Books)
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On the Calculation of Volume (Book III), Solvej Balle
Translated from Danish by Sophia Hersi Smith and Jennifer Russell (New Directions Publishing)
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The Remembered Soldier, Anjet Daanje
Translated from Dutch by David McKay (New Vessel Press)
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Río Muerto, Ricardo Silva Romero
Translated from Spanish by Victor Meadowcroft (World Editions)
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Sons and Daughters, Chaim Grade
Translated from Yiddish by Rose Waldman (Penguin Random House)
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PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay ($15,000)
For a seasoned writer whose collection of essays is an expansion on their corpus of work and preserves the distinguished art form of the essay.
Judges: Charles D’Ambrosio, Vanessa Mobley, Mark Slouka
Culture Creep: Notes on the Pop Apocalypse, Alice Bolin (HarperCollins)
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Putting Myself Together: Writing 1974–, Jamaica Kincaid (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
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The Haves and Have-Yachts: Dispatches on the Ultrarich, Evan Osnos (Scribner)
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Run the Song: Writing About Running About Listening, Ben Ratliff (Graywolf Press)
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Jazz June: A Self-Portrait in Essays, Clifford Thompson (University of Georgia Press)
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PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award ($10,000)
For a work that exemplifies literary excellence on the subject of the physical or biological sciences and communicates complex scientific concepts to a lay audience.
Judges: Dan Falk, Emily Levesque, Catherine Raven, Lauren Redniss
The Mind Electric: A Neurologist on the Strangeness and Wonder of Our Brains, Pria Anand (Atria)
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They Poisoned the World: Life and Death in the Age of Forever Chemicals, Mariah Blake (Penguin Random House)
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Dinner with King Tut: How Rogue Archaeologists Are Re-Creating the Sights, Sounds, Smells, and Tastes of Lost Civilizations, Sam Kean (Hachette Book Group)
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Adaptable: How Your Unique Body Really Works and Why Our Biology Unites Us, Herman Pontzer, PhD (Penguin Random House)
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Strata: Stories from Deep Time, Laura Poppick (W. W. Norton & Company)
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PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography ($5,000)
For a biography of exceptional literary, narrative, and artistic merit, based on scrupulous research.
Judges: Aidan Levy, Pamela Newkirk, Benjamin Taylor
Baldwin: A Love Story by Nicholas Boggs (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
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Troublemaker: The Fierce, Unruly Life of Jessica Mitford by Carla Kaplan (Harper)
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When Caesar Was King: How Sid Caesar Reinvented American Comedy by David Margolick (Schocken)
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Stan and Gus: Art, Ardor, and the Friendship That Built the Gilded Age by Henry Wiencek (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
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Electric Spark: The Enigma of Dame Muriel by Frances Wilson (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
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PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award for Nonfiction ($10,000)
For a distinguished book of general nonfiction possessing notable literary merit and critical perspective that illuminates important contemporary issues.
Judges: Reza Aslan, Beth C. Caldwell, Kelly Lytle Hernandez, Donovan X. Ramsey, Angela Saini
Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning, Peter Beinart (Alfred A. Knopf)
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A Greek Tragedy: One Day, a Deadly Shipwreck, and the Human Cost of the Refugee Crisis, Jeanne Carstensen (Atria)
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The Zorg: A Tale of Greed and Murder That Inspired the Abolition of Slavery, Siddharth Kara (St. Martin’s Publishing Group)
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Nothing More of This Land: Community, Power, and the Search for Indigenous Identity, Joseph Lee (Atria)
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We Survived the Night, Julian Brave NoiseCat (Penguin Random House)
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