Legacy Literary Awards
The long history of literary awards conferred by PEN America dates back more than 50 years. Some of these awards have evolved over time and may now be celebrated under new names or forms.
Legacy Awards By Genre
Fiction
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PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel
The PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel honors a work of exceptional merit by an author who has not previously published a full-length book of fiction.
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PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction
The PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction promotes fiction that addresses issues of social justice and the impact of culture and politics.
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PEN/Steven Kroll Award Honoring the Author of an Illustrated Children’s Book
The PEN/Steven Kroll Award (2012-2014) was awarded to acknowledge the distinct literary contributions of picture book writers.
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PEN/W. G. Sebald Award for a Fiction Writer in Mid-Career
The PEN/W. G. Sebald Award (2010-2011) honored an author who has published at least 3 significant works of literary fiction with the promise of more…
Nonfiction
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PEN/Architectural Digest Award for Literary Writing on the Visual Arts
The Architectural Digest Award (2000-2001) was presented for literary writing on the visual arts.
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PEN/Martha Albrand Award for First Nonfiction
The PEN/Martha Albrand Award for First Nonfiction (1989-2006) was awarded for an American author’s first-published book of general nonfiction.
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PEN/Martha Albrand Award for the Art of the Memoir
The PEN/Martha Albrand Award for the Art of the Memoir (1998-2006) was awarded for a first published memoir.
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PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing
The PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing (2010-2019) honored a nonfiction book about sports.
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PEN/FUSION Emerging Writers Prize
The PEN/FUSION Emerging Writers Prize (2015-2016) recognized a young writer of an unpublished work of nonfiction that addresses a global and/or multicultural issue.
Career
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PEN Emerging Writers Award
The PEN Emerging Writers Awards (2011) were established to promote talented up-and-coming authors who have yet to publish book-length works.
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PEN/Jerard Fund Award
The PEN/Jerard Fund Award (2001-2005) was given biennially to a woman writer at an early point in her career, and honored a work in progress…
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PEN/Roger Klein Award for Editing
The PEN/Roger Klein Award for Editing (1971-2000) was given every two years to an outstanding editor in trade hardcover publishing.
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PEN/Roger Klein Award for Career Achievement
The Roger Klein Award for Career Achievement (1971-2000) was presented to a trade book editor every two years for distinguished editorial achievement.
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PEN/ESPN Lifetime Achievement Award for Literary Sports Writing
The PEN/ESPN Lifetime Achievement Award for Literary Sports Writing (2011-2017) was given to a living writer to recognize a lifetime of writing about sports.
Poetry
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PEN/Joyce Osterweil Award for Poetry
The PEN/Joyce Osterweil Award (1999-2019) recognized the high literary character of a new and emerging American poet who showed promise of further literary achievement.
Free Expression
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PEN/Newman’s Own First Amendment Award
The PEN/Newman’s Own First Amendment Award (1993-2006) was presented to a U.S. resident who fought courageously to safeguard the freedom of expression as it applies to the…
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PEN/Katherine Anne Porter First Amendment Award
The PEN/Katherine Anne Porter First Amendment Award (2008) was given to a U.S. resident who has fought courageously to safeguard the freedom of expression as it applies…
Translation & International
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PEN/Renato Poggioli Translation Award
The Renato Poggioli Translation Award (1991-2000) honored a translator at work on an English-language version of Italian literature.
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PEN/Gregory Kolovakos Award for Expansion of Hispanic Literature to an English-Language Audience
The PEN/Gregory Kolovakos Award (1992-2004) honored an American literary translator, editor, or critic whose work extends Gregory Kolovakos’s commitment to Hispanic literature.
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PEN/Edward and Lily Tuck Award for Paraguayan Literature
The PEN/Edward and Lily Tuck Prize for Paraguayan Literature is meant to assist with the translation of Paraguayan literature from Spanish or Guarani into English.