Fiction · United States
The PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction
Presented each May at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., the PEN/Faulkner Award is the largest peer-juried fiction prize in the United States — three working fiction writers select the winner from over 300 submissions. Winners 2007–2025.
Named for William Faulkner and founded in 1980 by novelist Mary Lee Settle, the prize was created as a deliberate counter to the commercialisation of American literary awards — judged by peers rather than by critics or publishers, and oriented toward serious literary achievement over popular success.
Winners have included Philip Roth (2007), Julie Otsuka (2012), Karen Joy Fowler (2014), Imbolo Mbue (2017), Deesha Philyaw (2021) and Yiyun Li (2023). The prize has consistently championed debut and mid-career writers of extraordinary ambition.
Winners
- 2007 Everyman Philip Roth · more by this author Find on Amazon →
- 2008 The Great Man Kate Christensen Find on Amazon →
- 2009 Netherland Joseph O'Neill Find on Amazon →
- 2010 War Dances Sherman Alexie · more by this author Find on Amazon →
- 2011 The Collected Stories of Deborah Eisenberg Deborah Eisenberg Find on Amazon →
- 2012 The Buddha in the Attic Julie Otsuka
- 2013 Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club Benjamin Alire Sáenz
- 2014 We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves Karen Joy Fowler
- 2015 Preparation for the Next Life Atticus Lish
- 2016 Delicious Foods James Hannaham
- 2017 Behold the Dreamers Imbolo Mbue
- 2018 Improvement Joan Silber
- 2019 Call Me Zebra Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi
- 2020 Sea Monsters Chloe Aridjis
- 2021 The Secret Lives of Church Ladies Deesha Philyaw · more by this author In our catalogue Book club guide →
- 2022 The Wrong End of the Telescope Rabih Alameddine
- 2023 The Book of Goose Yiyun Li · more by this author In our catalogue Book club guide →
- 2024 What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez Claire Jiménez
- 2025 Small Rain Garth Greenwell · more by this author In our catalogue Book club guide →
The award has been presented since 1981. Years are the award year; winning books were published in the prior year.
Winners verified against the prize's official records. For the complete history, see the official The PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction site.
Common questions
What is the PEN/Faulkner Award?
The largest peer-juried fiction prize in the United States, given annually at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington. Three fiction writers chosen by the prize foundation judge the submissions, making it a writers' prize rather than a critics' or commercial prize.
How is the PEN/Faulkner Award judged?
Three working fiction writers are chosen annually as judges. They select a longlist from over 300 submissions, then five finalists, then one winner. The prize is explicitly designed to be free of commercial influence.