Announcing The 2024 PEN/Phyllis Naylor Grant For Children’s And Young Adult Novelists Winner

PEN/Phyllis Naylor Grant For Children’s And Young Adult Novelists ($5,000)

The PEN/Phyllis Naylor Grant for Children’s and Young Adult Novelists is offered annually to an author of children’s or young adult fiction for a novel in progress. The grant is made possible by a substantial contribution from PEN America Member and prolific author, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. The award was developed to help writers whose work is of high literary caliber and assist in the novel’s completion. The author of the winning manuscript is selected blindly by judges and will receive a $5,000 grant.

Judges: Traci Chee, Daniel Nayeri, Susanna Reich

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Jackie Sommers, How To Forgive an Island

From the judges’ citation: How to Forgive an Island is a complex, beautifully written contemporary YA novel. On the Pacific Northwest island of Santa Rita, seventeen-year-old Maggie Sutton struggles with the recent disappearance of her mother, her desire to leave her home for college, and the sudden reappearance of Penn Carroll, an art school dropout grappling with guilt over his brother’s debilitating accident. As Maggie and Penn reconnect over their shared history and current wounds, antagonism turns to attraction, and hurt evolves into hope. A deft hand at description, a subtle ear for dialogue, and a natural flair for drama make How to Forgive an Island an exploration of loss, a coming-of-age, and a romance all at once.