Authors

We don’t just give out awards, we work with authors.

For many students, meeting a writer is a powerful experience. Educators indicate that having writers visiting their classrooms creates a culture of literacy, engaging students with reading, the larger curriculum, and new stories and ideas about the world. This is why we’re always looking for writers who are willing to connect with young people about their work, the writing and publishing process, and the larger themes and ideas in their writing.

Here are our PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction submission guidelines.

Black author talking to student with book

Authors We've Worked With

Sufiya Abdur-Rahman, Chantel Acevedo, Malaika Adero, Gloria Amescua, Andrea Beatriz Arango, Kelly J. Baptist, Bijan Bayne, Adriana Hernández Bergstrom, Sheri Booker, Caroline Brewer, Derrick Weston Brown, Mahogany L. Browne, Molly Burnham, Bill Campbell, Winifred Conkling, Susan Muaddi Darraj, Lulu Delacre, Angela Dominguez, Patricia Elam, Robin Farmer, Saraciea J. Fennell, Kondwani Fidel, Tope Folarin, Mia Garcia, Melanie S. Hatter, Leah Henderson, Gareth Hinds, Zara Gonzalez Hoang, Hugh “H.D.” Hunter, Terry Catasús Jennings, Kim Johnson, Joy Jones, William Jones…

FAQs for Authors

"[It's] so cool when the teachers really work with the students and the material to bring it to life."

– Author Innosanto Nagara

“School visits are the most fun because they’re the most chaotic.”

– Author Mark Oshiro

“People often ask me what I like about being a poet. This is one of them. When students trust me to send me their work.”

– Author Alan King

"I just wanted to acknowledge how real you are in the book. You never hear those types of stories. I appreciate how you tell us your story. You're not hiding anything. You're not filtering anything."

– Student speaking to author Tony Lewis, Jr.

Authors We've Worked With

…Tony Lewis Jr., George Jreije, Jacqueline Jules, Christine Kendall, Hena Khan, Patti Kim, Alan King, Meg Eden Kuyatt, Debbie Levy, Sylvia Liu, Shilpi Malinowski, Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez, Nora Lester Murad, Rex Ogle, Mark Oshiro, Francesca Padilla, Lisa Page, Ginger and Frances Park, Leslye Penelope, NoNieqa Ramos, Jonathan Roth, Rion Amilcar Scott, Brendan Slocumb, Stan Stanley, Robin Talley, Erin Teagan, Eric Thomas, Truth Thomas, Sonja Thomas, Sergio Troncoso, Julian R. Vaca, Patricia Valdez, Jason Walz, D. Watkins, Lakita Wilson, Morowa Yejidé, and many more!