Award News

Librarian of Congress Dr. Carla Hayden has been selected as the 2025 PEN/Faulkner Literary Champion. This annual commendation recognizes a lifetime of devoted literary advocacy and a commitment to inspiring new generations of readers and writers."Dr. Hayden is a...

The PEN/Faulkner Foundation announces that Ted Chiang has been selected as the winner of the 2024 PEN/Bernard and Ann Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story. Given since 1988 in honor of the late Bernard Malamud, the award recognizes writers who have...

  Claire Jiménez’s What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez (Grand Central) has been selected as the winner of the 2024 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. “Our judges have accomplished the seemingly impossible task of finding a ‘first among equals’ among five diverse and...

Judges have selected the five finalists for the 2024 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, America’s most prestigious peer-juried literary prize. The finalists are Witness by Jamel Brinkley (Farrar, Straus and Giroux), Open Throat by Henry Hoke (MCD), What Happened to Ruthy...

We are thrilled to announce the longlist of books for the 2024 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction: Witness by Jamel Brinkley (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) The Guest by Emma Cline (Random House) Monica by Daniel Clowes (Fantagraphics) Open Throat by Henry Hoke (MCD) The Best...

Author and philanthropist David Baldacci has been selected as the 2024 PEN/Faulkner Literary Champion. This annual commendation recognizes a lifetime of devoted literary advocacy and a commitment to inspiring new generations of readers and writers.“David Baldacci,...

The PEN/Faulkner Foundation announces that Edwidge Danticat has been selected as the winner of the 2023 PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story. Given since 1988 in honor of the late Bernard Malamud, the award recognizes writers who have demonstrated exceptional achievement in the short story form.

  We are excited to announce that Yiyun Li’s The Book of Goose (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) has been selected as the winner of the 2023 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. “In December, we were pleased to honor Yiyun Li with the PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the...

Judges have selected the five finalists for the 2023 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, America’s most prestigious peer-juried literary prize. The finalists are If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery (MCD), Fruiting Bodies by Kathryn Harlan (Norton), The Islands by...

We are thrilled to announce the longlist of books for the 2023 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, America’s most prestigious peer-juried literary prize. The longlist includes the following ten titles: Does My Body Offend You? by Mayra Cuevas and Marie Marquardt (Knopf)...

We are excited to announce that long-time Fresh Air host and co-executive producer Terry Gross has been selected as the 2023 PEN/Faulkner Literary Champion. This annual commendation recognizes a lifetime of devoted literary advocacy and a commitment to inspiring new...

The PEN/Faulkner Foundation announces that Yiyun Li has been selected as the winner of the 2022 PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story. Given since 1988 in honor of the late Bernard Malamud, the award recognizes writers who have demonstrated exceptional...

We are excited to announce that Rabih Alameddine’s The Wrong End of the Telescope (Grove Atlantic) has been selected as the winner of the 2022 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. “This year’s judges have done the seemingly impossible,” said Louis Bayard, PEN/Faulkner...

We are excited to announce that entertainment legend Oprah Winfrey has been selected as the 2022 PEN/Faulkner Literary Champion. This annual commendation recognizes a lifetime of devoted literary advocacy and a commitment to inspiring new generations of readers and...

Judges have selected the five finalists for the 2022 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, America’s most prestigious peer-juried literary prize. The finalists are Radiant Fugitives by Nawaaz Ahmed (Counterpoint), The Wrong End of the Telescope by Rabih Alameddine (Grove...

We are thrilled to announce the longlist of books for the 2022 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, America’s most prestigious peer-juried literary prize. The longlist includes the following ten titles: Radiant Fugitives by Nawaaz Ahmed (Counterpoint)The Wrong End of the...

DATE | December 3, 2021 at 7:30 PM
LOCATION | Online Event

The 2021 PEN/Malamud Award Ceremony celebrated Charles Baxter. This year’s event featured a reading, an in-depth conversation and a Q&A about his work, and remarks by Janna Malamud Smith, Bernard Malamud’s daughter. The cceremony was hosted in partnership with the MFA Program in Creative Writing at American University.

Charles Baxter has been selected as the winner of the 2021 PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story. Given since 1988 in honor of the late Bernard Malamud, the award recognizes writers who have demonstrated exceptional achievement in the short story form....

The 2021 PEN/Faulkner Award Celebration was held on May 10, 2021, and honored this year's distinguished books and authors. This exquisite literary evening featured original readings by our PEN/Faulkner Award winner and four finalists; commendations by our three...

We are excited to announce that Deesha Philyaw's The Secret Lives of Church Ladies (West Virginia University Press) has been selected as the winner of the 2021 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction!"Choosing from among our five exceptional finalists was a supremely difficult...

Judges have selected the five finalists for the 2022 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, America’s most prestigious peer-juried literary prize. The finalists are Radiant Fugitives by Nawaaz Ahmed (Counterpoint), The Wrong End of the Telescope by Rabih Alameddine (Grove...

We are excited to announce that LeVar Burton, award-winning actor and longtime host of Reading Rainbow, has been named the inaugural PEN/Faulkner Literary Champion. Launched in conjunction with the PEN/Faulkner Foundation’s 40th Anniversary, this annual...

We are thrilled to announce the longlist of books for the 2021 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, America’s most prestigious peer-juried literary prize. The longlist includes the following ten titles: Bestiary by K-Ming Chang (One World)Dear...

DATE | December 4, 2020 at 7:30 PM
LOCATION | Online Event

The 2020 PEN/Malamud Award Ceremony celebrated Lydia Davis. This year’s event featured a reading, an in-depth conversation and a Q&A about Ms. Davis’ work, and remarks by Janna Malamud Smith, Bernard Malamud’s daughter. The cceremony was hosted in partnership with the MFA Program in Creative Writing at American University.

WASHINGTON, DC—The PEN/Faulkner Foundation announces that Lydia Davis has been selected as the winner of the 2020 PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story. Presented since 1988 in honor of the late Bernard Malamud, the award recognizes...

Please join us in paying tribute to our 2020 winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, Chloe Aridjis’ Sea Monsters, as well as our four finalists: Yiyun Li’s Where Reasons End; Peter Rock’s The Night Swimmers; Maurice Carlos Ruffin’s We Cast a Shadow; and Ocean...

WASHINGTON, DC—Chloe Aridjis’ Sea Monsters (Catapult) has been selected as the winner of the 2020 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. “In these extraordinary times, the written word has never been so important or healing,” said Louis Bayard, PEN/Faulkner...

WASHINGTON, DC—John Edgar Wideman has been selected as the winner of the 2019 PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story. Given since 1988 in honor of the late Bernard Malamud, the award recognizes a body of work that demonstrates excellence in the art of...

WASHINGTON, DC—Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi’s Call Me Zebra (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) has been selected as the winner of the 2019 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. “We are truly delighted to be able to honor such a rare and remarkable work of art,” said PEN/Faulkner...

Judges have selected the five finalists for the 2019 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, America’s largest peer-juried prize for fiction. The finalists are: Blanche McCrary Boyd for Tomb of the Unknown Racist (Counterpoint), Richard Powers for The Overstory (W.W....

We are pleased to announce that the 2018 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction winner is Joan Silber for her novel Improvement (Counterpoint Press)! Congratulations again to the four finalists: Hernán Diaz for In the Distance (Coffee House Press) Samantha Hunt for The Dark...

The PEN/Faulkner Foundation is pleased to announce that Jhumpa Lahiri will receive the 2017 PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story in an Award Ceremony & Reading held at the Folger Shakespeare Library on December 8th, 2017. Jhumpa Lahiri is the author...

Judges Chris Abani, Chantel Acevedo, and Sigrid Nunez have announced their list of finalists for the 2017 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. The winner will be announced on Tuesday, April 4th. Following the announcement, the 37th Annual PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction...

                          The PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story: Joy Williams Friday, December 2nd, 2016  |  7:30 PM Purchase a single ticket for $25. Folger Reading Room - Old Reading...

James Salter has been selected to receive the 25th annual PEN/Malamud Award. Given annually since 1988 in honor of the late Bernard Malamud, this award recognizes a body of work that demonstrates excellence in the art of short fiction. Salter is regarded as one of the...

We’re proud to announce the five finalists for the 2012 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, America’s largest peer-juried prize for fiction.

Given annually since 1988 in honor of the late Bernard Malamud, this award recognizes a body of work that demonstrates excellence in the art of short fiction.