The 2023 PEN American Literary Award Longlists person been announced! This year’s awards volition confer $350,000 to much than 100 writers and translators successful eleven antithetic categories that see fiction, nonfiction, poetry, biography, essay, subject writing, lit successful translation, and more. The winners volition beryllium announced astatine the Literary Awards Ceremony connected March 2nd astatine The Town Hall successful New York City.
This twelvemonth marks the 60th day of PEN America’s archetypal literate prize. In PEN America’s announcement of this year’s longlists, Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf, chief of literate programs, writes that, “For 60 years, writers and translators selected for PEN America’s awards person brought america person to unfamiliar lives and experiences and opened our minds to ideas and subjects we whitethorn not person realized could fascinate and instruct us.” That rings existent successful my caput arsenic the PEN America lists are immoderate of the astir divers and absorbing to beryllium released each year. This year’s honorees are telling almighty and indispensable stories of displacement and migration, radical justice, war, family, identity, and truthful overmuch more.
There were 1,744 full entries this twelvemonth with fractional of those connected the longlists coming from autarkic and assemblage presses. And this year’s honorees are divers successful a full big of ways, including gender, race, intersexual orientation, and geography. The PEN Translation Prize was the archetypal of the prizes to beryllium presented 60 years ago. This year’s awards grant translations of books by authors from 20 antithetic countries. Translators moving successful much than a twelve languages are represented connected the list, including Arabic, Belarusian, Danish, French, Galacian, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Persian, Portuguese, and Spanish.
PEN/JEAN STEIN BOOK AWARD ($75,000)
This grant is fixed to a book-length enactment of immoderate genre for its originality, merit, and impact, which has breached caller crushed by reshaping the boundaries of its signifier and signaling beardown imaginable for lasting influence. And this year’s judges are Joan Naviyuk Kane, Lauren Groff, and Madeleine Thien.
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My Pinup by Hilton Als (New Directions)
Acting Class by Nick Drnaso (Drawn & Quarterly)
If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery (MCD)
Dr. No by Percival Everett (Graywolf Press)
Very Cold People by Sarah Manguso (Hogarth Press)
Milkweed Smithereens by Bernadette Mayer (New Directions)
If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English by Noor Naga (Graywolf Press)
The White Mosque by Sofia Samatar (Catapult)
Customs by Solmaz Sharif (Graywolf Press)
Night of the Living Rez by Morgan Talty (Tin House Books)
PEN Open Book Award ($10,000)
This grant is fixed to an exceptional book-length enactment of immoderate literate genre by an writer of color. This year’s judges are Jenn Baker, Maurice Carlos Ruffin, Nina McConigley, and Erika L. Sanchez.
Golden Ax by Rio Cortez (Penguin Books)
Shutter by Ramona Emerson (Soho Crime)
The Black Period by Hafizah Augustus Geter (Random House)
The Listening Skin: Poems by Glenis Redmond (Four Way Books)
Gorgoneion by Casey Rocheteau (Noemi Press)
All the Flowers Kneeling by Paul Tran (Penguin Books)
The Town of Babylon by Alejandro Varela (Astra House)
Making Love with the Land by Joshua Whitehead (University of Minnesota Press)
Last Summer connected State Street by Toya Wolfe (William Morrow & Company)
Solito by Javier Zamora (Hogarth Press)
PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Short Story Collection ($25,000)
This grant is fixed to an writer whose debut postulation of abbreviated stories represents distinguished literate accomplishment and suggests large committedness for aboriginal work. And this year’s judges are Nafissa Thompson Spires, Chris Gonzalez, and Susan Muaddi Darraj.
Seeking Fortune Elsewhere by Sindya Bhanoo (Catapult)
Rainbow Rainbow by Lydia Conklin (Catapult)
Is This How You Eat a Watermelon? by Zein El-Amine (Radix Media)
If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery (MCD)
A Down Home Meal for These Difficult Times by Meron Hadero (Restless Books)
A Calm & Normal Heart by Chelsea T. Hicks (The Unnamed Press)
What We Fed to the Manticore by Talia Lakshmi Kolluri (Tin House Books)
The Anchored World by Jasmine Sawers (Rose Metal Press)
Night of the Living Rez by Morgan Talty (Tin House Books)
Manywhere by Morgan Thomas (MCD)
PEN/HEMINGWAY AWARD FOR DEBUT NOVEL ($10,000)
This grant is fixed to a debut caller of exceptional literate merit by an American author. And this year’s judges are Gina Apostol, Oscar Cásares, and Matthew Salesses.
A Tiny Upward Shove by Melissa Chadburn (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan (Simon & Schuster)
Activities of Daily Living by Lisa Hsiao Chen (W. W. Norton & Company)
Shutter by Ramona Emerson (Soho Crime)
Nuclear Family by Joseph Han (Counterpoint)
Calling For a Blanket Dance by Oscar Hokeah (Algonquin Books)
Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley (Alfred A. Knopf)
How High We Go successful the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu (William Morrow & Company)
Little Rabbit by Alyssa Songsiridej (Bloomsbury Publishing)
Which Side Are You On by Ryan Lee Wong (Catapult)
PEN/VOELCKER AWARD FOR POETRY COLLECTION
This grant is fixed to a writer whose distinguished postulation of poesy represents a notable and accomplished literate presence. This year’s judges are Kimiko Hahn, Molly McCully Brown, Allison Rollins, and Willie Perdomo.
Smoking the Bible by Chris Abani (Copper Canyon Press)
[To] The Last [Be] Human by Jorie Graham (Copper Canyon Press)
Maafa by Harmony Holiday (Fence Books)
The Hurting Kind by Ada Limon (Milkweed Editions)
To The Realization of Perfect Helplessness by Robin Coste Lewis (Penguin Random House)
Cain Named The Animal by Shane Mcrae (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
Pink Waves by Sawako Nakayasu (OmniDawn)
blood snow by Dg Nanouk Okpik (Wave Poetry)
Then The War by Carl Phillips (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
Best Barbarian by Roger Reeves (W. W. Norton & Company)
PEN AWARD FOR POETRY IN TRANSLATION ($3,000)
This grant is fixed to a book-length translation of poesy from immoderate connection into English. And this year’s judges are Baba Badji, Mona Kareem, and Julia Leverone.
The Loose Pearl by Paula Ilabaca Nuñez (Coimpress)
Translated from Spanish by Daniel Borzutzky
No Way successful the Skin without This Bloody Embrace by Jean D’Amérique (Ugly Duckling Presse)
Translated from French by Conor Bracken
The Threshold by Iman Mersal (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
Translated from Arabic by Robyn Creswell
claus and the scorpion by Lara Dopazo Ruibal (Coimpress)
Translated from Galician by Laura Cesarco Eglin
Dolore Minimo by Giovanna Cristina Vivinetto (Saturnalia Books)
Translated from Italian by Gabriella Fee and Dora Malech
Let Us Believe successful the Beginning of the Cold Season by Forough Farrokhzad (New Directions Publishing)
Translated from Persian by Elizabeth T. Gray, Jr.
distant transit by Maja Haderlap (Archipelago Books)
Translated from German by Tess Lewis
Motherfield by Julia Cimafiejeva (Deep Vellum Publishing)
Translated from Belarusian by Valzhyna Mort and Hanif Abdurraqib
The Rust of History by Sotero Rivera Avilés (Circumference)
Translated from Spanish by Raquel Salas Rivera
Adela Zamudio: Selected Poetry & Prose by Adela Zamudio (Fuente Fountain Books)
Translated from Spanish by Lynette Yetter
PEN TRANSLATION PRIZE ($3,000)
This grant is fixed to a book-length translation of prose from immoderate connection into English. And this year’s judges are Layla Benitez-James, Slava Faybysh, Sora Kim-Russell, and Elton Uliana.
All Your Children, Scattered by Beata Umybyeyi Mairesse (Europa Editions)
Translated from French by Alison Anderson
The Tatami Galaxy by Tomihiko Morimi (HarperVia)
Translated from Japanese by Emily Balistrieri
Jawbone by Mónica Ojeda (Coffee House Press)
Translated from Spanish by Sarah Booker
Call Me Cassandra by Marcial Gala (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
Translated from Spanish by Anna Kushner
Moldy Strawberries by Caio Fernando Abreu (Archipelago Books)
Translated from Portuguese by Bruna Dantas Lobato
Toño the Infallible by Evelio Rosero (New Directions Publishing)
Translated from Spanish by Victor Meadowcroft and Anne McLean
Ghost Town by Kevin Chen (Europa Editions)
Translated from Taiwanese by Darryl Sterk
People from Bloomington by Budi Darma (Penguin Classics)
Translated from Indonesian by Tiffany Tsao
A Line successful the World: A Year connected the North Sea Coast by Dorthe Nors (Graywolf Press)
Translated from by Caroline Waight
Pina by Titaua Peu (Restless Books)
Translated from French by Jeffrey Zuckerman
PEN/DIAMONSTEIN-SPIELVOGEL AWARD FOR THE ART OF THE ESSAY ($15,000)
This grant is fixed to a seasoned writer whose postulation of essays is an enlargement connected their corpus of enactment and preserves the distinguished creation signifier of the essay. And this year’s judges are Jill Lepore, John McWhorter, and Simon Winchester.
I’ll Show Myself Out by Jessi Klein (HarperCollins)
Translating Myself and Others by Jhumpa Lahiri (Princeton University Press)
A Place successful the World by Frances Mayes (Crown)
Still No Word From You by Peter Orner (Catapult)
Animal Bodies: On Death, Desire, and Other Difficulties by Suzanne Roberts (University of Nebraska Press)
Happy-Go-Lucky by David Sedaris (Little, Brown and Company)
Small Acreages by Georgia Green Stamper (Shadelandhouse Modern Press)
Streaming Now: Postcards from the Thing That Is Happening by Laurie Stone (Dottir Press)
A Left-Handed Woman by Judith Thurman (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
The Green Hour: A Natural History of Home by Alison Townsend (The University of Wisconsin Press)
PEN/E.O. WILSON LITERARY SCIENCE WRITING AWARD
This grant is fixed to a enactment that exemplifies literate excellence connected the taxable of the carnal oregon biologic sciences and communicates analyzable technological concepts to a laic audience. And this year’s judges are Tim Folger, David Hu, and Emily Raboteau.
Different: Gender Through the Eyes of a Primatologist by Frans de Waal (W. W. Norton & Company)
Vagina Obscura by Rachel E. Gross (W. W. Norton & Company)
Orchid Muse by Erica Hannickel (W. W. Norton & Company)
Sounds Wild and Broken by David George Haskell (Viking)
A Molecule Away from Madness by Sara Manning Peskin (W. W. Norton & Company)
The Wine-Dark Sea Within: A Turbulent History of Blood by Dhun Sethna (Basic Books)
Big Bang of Numbers by Manil Suri (W. W. Norton & Company)
Heartbreak by Florence Williams (W. W. Norton & Company)
An Immense World by Ed Yong (Random House)
Dancing Cockatoos by Marlene Zuk (W. W. Norton & Company)
PEN/JACQUELINE BOGRAD WELD AWARD FOR BIOGRAPHY ($5,000)
This grant is fixed to a biography of exceptional literary, narrative, and creator merit, based connected scrupulous research. And this year’s judges are Manu Bhagavan and Silvana Paternostro.
An American Martyr successful Persia: The Epic Life and Tragic Death of Howard Baskerville by Reza Aslan (W. W. Norton& Company)
Civil Rights Queen: Constance Baker Motley and the Struggle for Equality by Tomiko Brown-Nagin (Pantheon)
Dilla Time: The Life and Afterlife of J Dilla, the Hip-Hop Producer Who Reinvented Rhythm by Dan Charnas (MCD)
The Adventures of Herbie Cohen by Rich Cohen (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century by Beverly Gage (Viking)
The Hyacinth Girl: T. S. Eliot’s Hidden Muse by Lyndall Gordon (W. W. Norton & Company)
Guru to the World: The Life and Legacy of Vivekananda by Ruth Harris (Belknap Press of Harvard University Press)
Mr. B: George Balanchine’s 20th Century by Jennifer Homans (Random House)
The Pope astatine War: The Secret History of Pius XII, Mussolini, and Hitler by David I. Kertzer (Random House)
Saxophone Colossus: The Life and Music of Sonny Rollins by Aidan Levy (Hachette Books)
PEN/JOHN KENNETH GALBRAITH AWARD FOR NONFICTION
This grant is fixed to a distinguished publication of wide nonfiction possessing notable literate merit and captious position that illuminates important modern issues. And this year’s judges are Sanjiv Bhattacharya, Geraldo Cadava, and Sofija Stefanovic.
The Naked Don’t Fear the Water: An Underground Journey with Afghan Refugees by Matthieu Aikins (HarperCollins)
Tree Thieves: Crime and Survival successful North America’s Woods by Lyndsie Bourgon (Little, Brown and Company)
After the Ivory Tower Falls: How College Broke the American Dream and Blew Up Our Politics–And How to Fix It by Will Bunch (HarperCollins)
The Inheritors: An Intimate Portrait of South Africa’s Racial Reckoning by Eve Fairbanks (Simon & Schuster)
Bad Mexicans: Race, Empire, and Revolution successful the Borderlands by Kelly Lytle Hernandez (W. W. Norton & Company)
South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation by Imani Perry (HarperCollins)
The War of Nerves: Inside the Cold War Mind by Martin Sixsmith (Pegasus Books)
The Viral Underclass: The Human Toll When Inequality and Disease Collide by Steven W. Thrasher (Celadon Books)
The Great Stewardess Rebellion: How Women Launched a Workplace Revolution astatine 30,000 Feet by Nell McShane Wulfhart (Random House)
Solito by Javier Zamora (Random House)
Looking for adjacent much large recommendations? Check retired last year’s winners.