PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel

The PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel honors a debut novel of exceptional merit by an American author who has not previously published a full-length book of fiction. The Award aims to preserve the novel as an art form and to support the longevity of the writer’s literary career. The winner will receive a $10,000 cash prize intended to allow significant time and resources with which to pursue a subsequent work of fiction.

All winners, finalists, and longlisters for this award are eligible to receive PEN America’s official emblems. If you are a publisher and interested in obtaining PEN America’s award emblem, please write to [email protected]. For more information, please visit our Awards FAQ page.

Submissions open from June 15 – August 15, 2024 for books published in the 2024 calendar year.

2024 Award

To a debut novel of exceptional literary merit.

Judges: Elizabeth Crane, Cleyvis Natera, Charlie Vázquez

Countries of Origin, Javier Fuentes (Pantheon Books)

From the judges’ citation: “Countries of Origin is a moving story about a young undocumented man who’s lived in the United States since his childhood. Through his story, we experience what it means to live in a state of suspension, in fear of taking a wrong step that could lead to expulsion from the only country our protagonist, Demetrio, has ever known as home. A series of events leads him back to Spain, his country of birth, where Demetrio is once again forced to reflect on what it means to be from a place while existing outside of it. We watch as he falls in love with the wealthy and charismatic Jacobo, which complicates the urgency of finding his own place in the world. There’s a great deal of care and tenderness in Fuentes’ telling of the story from that point onward. The narrative insists that we consider class, belonging, borders, legacies, and love in the construction of the self. It’s a novel that brims with hope and love.”

History

Eligibility

• The work must be a candidate’s absolute first novel and published by a U.S. trade publisher between January 1 and December 31 of the applicable calendar year. The writer may have previously published books in other genres.
• Eligible books must be written by a single, living author.
• Publishers may submit galleys or manuscripts for consideration if the book is not yet published.
• Candidates must be U.S. residents and/or citizens permanently residing in the United States.
• There are no restrictions on the candidate’s age or on the style of their work as long as it is a full-length work of fiction.
• If you submit a book for this award, you may not submit it for any additional PEN America Literary Award, with the exception of the PEN Open Book Award. Please note that the PEN/Faulkner Award is not considered a PEN America Literary Award.

Submission Guidelines

• All submitted books must be published by a trade or academic publisher between January 1 and December 31 in the applicable year. Self-published books are ineligible for the PEN America Literary Awards.
• Books with more than one original author are ineligible for the PEN America Literary Awards.
• PEN America will only accept submissions from publishers or literary agents. Authors may not submit their own books.
• On the submission form, please select the award you are submitting to.
• Submissions of a book to multiple awards is allowed only in the case of the PEN Open Book Award. Please complete a separate submission for this award if applicable.
• Please submit verified email addresses on the submission form. Your order cannot be processed without an email address. Additional contacts are required so that we may be in contact directly if an author or translator is selected as a longlister, finalist, and/or winner.
• Upload a PDF file of the galley or final manuscript on the book submissions form. Book award submissions will be read as PDF files. Please upload the file saved as BOOKTITLE_AUTHORNAME. For the judges’ convenience, please upload a book file WITHOUT watermarks. Each book file will be kept confidentially between the Literary Awards team and the awards judges. Please note that if a book is longlisted, PEN America may request a physical copy be sent to the judging panel.
• Upload a high-resolution book jacket photo. This may be used later if the book is longlisted, a finalist, or a winner.
• Each submission is $85. Submission fees are not refundable. Please note that all payments must be made via the submission form.
• Submission fees may be waived for publishers whose annual net sales are less than $2 million. You may request an exemption here—this form asks for a letter on company letterhead stating that the press’s annual net sales are less than $2 million. Do not submit your title before requesting your fee exemption, as the Literary Awards Team will provide you with an alternative submission method.
• Once the submitted book is received and reviewed for eligibility by PEN America, it will be passed along to the judges. Please add [email protected] to your address book, as it will be the main point of contact from PEN America.