PEN America has announced the 50 finalists for its 2026 Literary Awards, celebrating a mix of global icons and emerging voices across fiction, poetry, drama and non-fiction.
Now in its 62nd year, the awards, often dubbed the “Oscars for books,” will distribute nearly $350,000 in prize money. The winners will be revealed during a live ceremony on March 31 at New York City’s historic Town Hall, featuring dramatic readings and musical performances.
Alongside the book shortlists, two major career achievement prizes have been awarded to Edwidge Danticat and Julia Cho.
Danticat, the Haitian-American novelist receives the PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International Literature ($50,000), while Cho, the playwright and screenwriter receives the PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theatre Award ($10,000).
Judges praised Danticat’s “border-transcending” prose and her profound influence on the literature of identity and the diaspora.
The panel lauded Cho’s “transcendent and searching” body of work, including plays such as The Language Archive and her screenwriting for Pixar.
The prestigious PEN/Jean Stein Book Award, which carries a $75,000 purse for originality and impact, sees a competitive shortlist including Yiyun Li, Things in Nature Merely Grow; Arthur Sze, Into the Hush; Joy Williams, The Pelican Child; Cannupa Hanska Luger, SURVIVA and Brandon Hobson, The Devil Is a Southpaw
Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf, PEN America’s interim co-CEO, noted that the selected works are “indispensable” in troubling times. “Literature celebrates the freedom to write, think and learn,” she said. “These storytellers move us toward deeper empathy.”
The finalists represent a diverse geographical and professional spread, hailing from 20 US states and various countries. The list includes everything from an 88-year-old poet to debut novelists and scholars of neurology and the environment.
Tickets for the ceremony go on sale in February via The Town Hall box office.
