PEN/Faulkner Award for American Fiction

 Christchurch City Libraries lists literary prize winners and links to catalogue searches, but we may not hold copies of all titles mentioned.

The PEN/Faulkner Foundation each year recognizes the best published works of fiction by contemporary American writers. Named for William Faulkner, who used his Nobel Prize funds to create an award for young writers, and affiliated with PEN (Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Essayists and Novelists), the international writers’ organization, the PEN/Faulkner Award was founded by writers in 1980 to honour their peers, and is now the largest juried award for fiction in the United States. The author of the winning book receives $15,000 and the shortlisted authors receive $5000 each.

The award judges, who are themselves writers of fiction, each read more than 250 novels and short story collections published during the calendar year before selecting five outstanding books.

See more literary prize winners.

2024 shortlist

• Witness Jamel Brinkley
• Open throat Henry Hoke
• What happened to Ruthy Ramirez Claire Jimenez
• Absolution Alice McDermott
• Users Colin Winnette

2023

• The Book of Goose Yiyun Li Winner
• If I Survive You Jonathan Escoffery
• Fruiting Bodies Kathryn Harlan
• The Islands Dionne Irving
• Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm Laura Warrell

2022  

• The Wrong End of the Telescope Rabih Alameddine Winner
• Radiant fugitives  Nawaaz Ahmed
• The President and the Frog Carolina De Robertis
• Dear Miss Metropolitan Carolyn Ferrell
• How Beautiful We Were Imbolo Mbue

2021

• The secret lives of church ladies Deesha Philyaw Winner
• Scattered lights Steve Wiegenstein
• Mother daughter widow wife Robin Wasserman
• The knockout queen Rufi Thorpe
• Disappear doppelgänger disappear Matthew Salesses

2020 

• Sea Monsters Chloe Arijdis Winner
• Where Reasons End Yiyun Li
• Night Swimmers Peter Rock
• We Cast a Shadow Maurice Carlos Ruffin
• On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous Ocean Vuong 

2019

• Call Me Zebra Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi Winner
• Tomb of the Unknown Racist Blanche McCrary Boyd
• The Overstory Richard Powers
• Love War Stories Ivelisse Rodriguez
• Don’t Skip Out on Me Willy Vlautin

2018

• Improvement Joan Silber Winner
• In the Distance  Hernán Diaz
• The Dark Dark Samantha Hunt
• The Tower of the Antilles Achy Obejas
• Sing, Unburied, Sing Jesmyn Ward

2017

• Behold the dreamers Imbolo Mbue Winner
• After disasters Viet Dinh
• LaRose Louise Erdrich
• What belongs to you Garth Grenwell
• Your heart is a muscle the size of a fist Sunil Yapa

2016

• Delicious Foods James Hannaham Winner
• Mr. and Mrs. Doctor Julie Iromuanya
• The Sympathizer Viet Thanh Nguyen
• Mendocino Fire Elizabeth Tallent
• The Water Museum Luis Alberto Urrea

2015

• Preparation for the next life Atticus Lish Winner
• Song of the shank Jeffery Renard Allen
• Prayers for the stolen Jennifer Clement
• Station Eleven Emily St. John Mandel
• Dept. of Speculation Jenny Offill

2014

• We are all completely beside ourselves Karen Joy Fowler Winner
• At night we walk in circles Daniel Alarcón
• Percival Everett Virgil Russell
• Fools Joan Silber
• Search party: stories of rescue Valerie Trueblood

2013

• Everything begins & ends at the Kentucky Club Benjamin Alire Sáenz Winner
• Threats Amelia Gray
• Kind one Laird Hunt
• Hold it 'til it hurts T. Geronimo Johnson
• Watergate Thomas Mallon

2012

• The Buddha in the attic Julie Otsuka Winner
• Lost memory of skin Russell Banks
• The Angel Esmeralda: nine stories Don DeLillo
• The artist of disappearance Anita Desai
• We others: new and selected stories Steven Millhauser

2011

• The collected stories of Deborah Eisenberg Deborah Eisenberg Winner
• A visit from the Goon Squad Jennifer Egan
• Lord of misrule Jaimy Gordon
• Model home Eric Puchner
• Aliens in the prime of their lives Brad Watson

2010

• War dances Sherman Alexie Winner
• The lacuna Barbara Kingsolver
• Homicide Survivors Picnic Lorraine Lopéz
• A gate at the stairs Lorrie Moore
• Sag Harbor Colson Whitehead

2009

• Netherland Joseph O’Neill Winner
• Ms Hempel Chronicles Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum
• A person of interest Susan Choi
• Lush life Richard Price
• Serena Ron Rash

2008

• The great man Kate Christensen Winner
• The Maytrees Annie Dillard
• The Indian clerk David Leavitt
• The gateway: stories T. M. McNally
• Chemistry and other Stories Ron Rash

2007

• Everyman Philip Roth Winner
• The Dead Fish Museum Charles DAmbrosio
• Twilight of the superheroes Deborah Eisenberg
• The collected stories of Amy Hempel Amy Hempel
• All Aunt Hagar's children Edward P. Jones

2006

• The march by E. L. Doctorow Winner
• A sudden country Karen Fisher
• I got somebody in Staunton William Henry Lewis
• Last night James Salter
• The Chrysanthemum Palace Bruce Wagner

2005

• War trash Ha Jin Winner
• The Green Lantern Jerome Charyn
• The dew breaker Edwidge Danticat
• Gilead Marilynne Robinson
• Prisoners of war Steve Yarbrough

2004

• The early stories John Updike Winner
• Elroy nights Frederick Barthelme
• Drinking coffee elsewhere Z. Z. Packer
• A distant shore Caryl Phillips
• Old school Tobias Wolff

2003

• The Caprices Sabina Murray Winner
• The city of your final destination Peter Cameron
• Roscoe William Kennedy
• The ecstatic Victor LaValle
• Little Casino Gilbert Sorrentino

2002

• Bel canto Ann Patchett Winner
• Sister Noon Karen Jay Fowler
• The corrections Jonathan Franzen
• The hunters Claire Messud
• The death of Vishnu Mani Suri

2001

• The human stain Philip Roth Winner
• The amazing adventures of Kavalier & Clay Michael Chabon
• Harry Gold Millicent Dillon
• The name of the world Denis Johnson
• Off Keck Road Mona Simpson

2000

• Waiting Ha Jin Winner
• The night inspector Frederick Busch
• Pu-239 and other Russian fantasies Ken Kalfus
• Amy and Isabelle Elizabeth Strout
• Siam: or the woman who shot a man Lily Tuck

1999

• The hours Michael Cunningham Winner
• The Poisonwood Bible Barbara Kingsolver
• Cloudsplitter Russell Banks
• Starting out in the evening Brian Morton
• The Doctor stories Richard Selzer

1998

• The bear comes home Rafi Zabor Winner
• The mercy seat Rilla Askew
• The hundred brothers Donald Antrim
• Because they wanted to Mary Gaitskill
• The ordinary seaman Francisco Goldman

1997

• Women in their beds Gina Berriault Winner
• St Burl's obituary Daniel Akst
• The book of mercy Kathleen Cambor
• Atticus Ron Hansen
• The autobiography of my mother Jamaica Kincaid

1996

• Independence Day Richard Ford Winner
• All Soul's rising Madison Smartt Bell
• The tunnel William Gass
• When the world was steady Claire Messud
• The good negress A. J. Verdelle

1995

• Snow falling on cedars David Guterson Winner
• The children in the woods Frederick Busch
• Stones from the river Ursula Hegi
• What I lived for Joyce Carol Oates
• Various antidotes Joanna Scott

1994

• Operation Shylock Philip Roth Winner
• Van Gogh's room at Arles Stanley Elkin
• The magic of blood Dagoberto Gilb
• Bone Fae Myenne Ng
• Not where I started from Kate Wheeler

1993

• Postcards E Annie Proulx Winner
• A good scent from a strange mountain Robert Olen Butler
• The long night of white chickens Francisco Goldman
• Natural history Maureen Howard
• Talking to the dead Sylvia Watanabe

1992

• Mao II Don DeLillo Winner
• Frog Stephen Dixon
• Extraordinary people Paul Gervais
• White people Allan Gurganus
• The Almanac branch Bradford Morrow

1991

• Philadelphia fire John Edgar Wideman Winner
• The music of chance Paul Auster
• A gentlemen's guide to the frontier Joanne Meschery
• The Barnum Museum Steven Millhauser
• Arrogance Joanna Scott

1990

• Billy Bathgate E. L. Doctorow Winner
• Affliction Russell Banks
• The jump-off creek Molly Gloss
• On the island Josephine Jacobsen
• Leaving Brooklyn Lynne Sharon Schwartz