PEN/Saul Bellow Award for Achievement in American Fiction ($25,000): To a distinguished living American author of fiction.
JUDGES: Louise Erdrich, Dinaw Mengestu, and Francine Prose
PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Fiction ($25,000): To an author whose debut work—a first novel or collection of short stories published in 2015—represents distinguished literary achievement and suggests great promise.
JUDGES: Helon Habila, Elizabeth McCracken, Edie Meidav, and Jess Row
WINNER:
In the Country: Stories
Mia Alvar
Alfred A. Knopf
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PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction, Founded by Barbara Kingsolver ($25,000): To an author of an unpublished novel that addresses issues of social justice. The prize also includes a publishing contract with Algonquin Books.
JUDGES: Laila Lalami, Kathy Pories, and Brando Skyhorse
WINNER: Lisa Ko for “The Leavers” (Forthcoming from Algonquin Books)
PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay ($10,000): For a book of essays published in 2015 that exemplifies the dignity and esteem that the essay form imparts to literature.
JUDGES: Verlyn Klinkenborg, Meghan O’Rourke, and Luc Sante
WINNER:
Between the World and Me
Ta-Nehisi Coates
Spiegel & Grau/Random House
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PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award ($10,000): For a book of literary nonfiction on the subject of the physical or biological sciences published in 2015.
JUDGES: Joshua Foer, Virginia Hughes, and Sonia Shah
WINNER:
Lauren Redniss
Random House
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PEN Open Book Award ($5,000): For an exceptional book-length work of literature by an author of color published in 2015.
JUDGES: Rachel Eliza Griffiths, Celeste Ng, and Héctor Tobar
WINNER:
Chord
Rick Barot
Sarabande Books
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PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Awards ($7,500 and $2,500): Three awards which honor a Master American Dramatist, American Playwright in Mid-Career, and Emerging American Playwright.
JUDGES: Annie Baker, Kirsten Greenidge, and Tracy Letts
Master American Dramatist (to receive a specially commissioned art object):
WINNER: Lynn Nottage
American Playwright in Mid-Career ($7,500):
WINNER: Young Jean Lee
Emerging American Playwright ($2,500):
WINNER: Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing ($5,000): To honor a nonfiction book on the subject of sports published in 2015.
JUDGES: David Epstein, Ann Killion, and Dave Zirin
WINNER:
The Secret Game: A Wartime Story of Courage, Change, and Basketball’s Lost Triumph
Scott Ellsworth
Little, Brown and Company/Hachette Book Group
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PEN/ESPN Lifetime Achievement Award for Literary Sports Writing ($5,000): For a writer whose body of work represents an exceptional contribution to the field.
JUDGES: Senator William W. Bradley, Sally Jenkins, and Dave Kindred
PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography ($5,000): For a distinguished biography published in 2015.
JUDGES: Nell Irvin Painter, Deborah Solomon, and Simon Winchester
WINNER:
Agnes Martin: Her Life and Art
Nancy Princenthal
Thames & Hudson
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PEN/Phyllis Naylor Working Writer Fellowship ($5,000): For an author of children’s or young-adult fiction to complete a book-length work-in-progress.
JUDGES: Emily Arnold McCully, Katherine Paterson, and Jason Reynolds
WINNER: Ash Parsons for “A Chemical Distance” (Available for publication)
PEN/Voelcker Award for Poetry ($5,000): To a poet whose distinguished and growing body of work to date represents a notable and accomplished presence in American literature.
JUDGES: Catherine Barnett, Jericho Brown, and Tina Chang
WINNER: Ed Roberson
PEN Translation Prize ($3,000): For a book-length translation of prose into English published in 2015.
JUDGES: Elisabeth Jaquette, Aviya Kushner, Ronald Meyer, Sara Nović, and Jeffrey Zuckerman
WINNER:
The Complete Stories by Clarice Lispector
Translated from the Portuguese by Katrina Dodson
New Directions
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PEN Award for Poetry in Translation ($3,000): For a book-length translation of poetry into English published in 2015.
JUDGE: Urayoán Noel
WINNER:
The Collected Poems of Chika Sagawa
Translated from the Japanese by Sawako Nakayasu
Canarium Books
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PEN/Edward and Lily Tuck Award for Paraguayan Literature ($3,000): To a living author of a major work of Paraguayan literature not yet translated into English.
JUDGES: Ezra E. Fitz, Amalia Gladhart, and Mark Weiss
WINNER: Nathalia María Echauri Castagnino for Doce Lunas Llenas: Poesias sobre la Divina Energia Femenina
PEN/FUSION Emerging Writers Prize ($10,000): For a promising young writer under the age of 35 for an unpublished work of nonfiction that addresses a global and/or multicultural issue.
JUDGES: Marie Arana, Manuel Gonzales, and Johnny Temple
WINNER:
PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grants ($2,000-$4,000): To support the translation of book-length works into English.
JUDGES: Esther Allen, Peter Blackstock, Sara Khalili, Tynan Kogane, Allison Markin Powell, Antonio Romani, Chip Rossetti, and Alex Zucker
WINNERS: Gabriel Amor, Ellen Cassedy, Chris Clarke, Sharon Dolin, Kaiama L. Glover, Anita Gopalan, Amanda Lee, Karen Leeder, Rachel McNicholl, Alicia Meier, Emma Ramadan, Corine Tachtiris, Russell Valentino, and Jeffrey Zuckerman