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Kirkus Prize for Fiction

Kirkus Reviews

An annual American literary award given by Kirkus Reviews to a work of fiction, selected from books that received a starred Kirkus review during the eligibility period, carrying a $50,000 cash prize.

Latest winner · 2026

  • Kin · Tayari Jones

Next · expected August 2027

Shortlist announced Full award calendar

Search through 7,609 books

2026

  1. Kin

    Tayari Jones

    Won
  2. Cool Machine

    Colson Whitehead

    Shortlisted
  3. Eating Ashes

    Brenda Navarro Megan McDowell (tr.)

    Shortlisted
  4. John of John

    Douglas Stuart

    Nominated for 2 more awards

    Shortlisted
  5. Luna, Phoenix, Queen

    Julie Orringer

    Shortlisted
  6. This Is Where the Serpent Lives

    Daniyal Mueenuddin

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted

2025

  1. The Slip

    Lucas Schaefer

    Won
  2. A Guardian and a Thief

    Megha Majumdar

    Won 1 more award · Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  3. Flesh

    David Szalay

    Won 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  4. Isola

    Allegra Goodman

    Shortlisted
  5. The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny

    Kiran Desai

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  6. The Wilderness

    Angela Flournoy

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted

2024

  1. James

    Percival Everett

    Won 3 more awards · Nominated for 6 more awards

    Won
  2. Margo's Got Money Troubles

    Rufi Thorpe

    Shortlisted
  3. Playground

    Richard Powers

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  4. Prophet Song

    Paul Lynch

    Won 1 more award · Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  5. Say Hello to My Little Friend: A Novel

    Jennine Capó Crucet

    Won 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  6. The Mighty Red

    Louise Erdrich

    Shortlisted

2023

  1. The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store

    James McBride

    Won
  2. Birnam Wood

    Eleanor Catton

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  3. Let Us Descend

    Jesmyn Ward

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  4. The Bee Sting

    Paul Murray

    Nominated for 2 more awards

    Shortlisted
  5. White Cat, Black Dog

    Kelly Link

    Shortlisted
  6. Witness

    Jamel Brinkley

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted

2022

  1. Trust

    Hernán Díaz

    Won 1 more award · Nominated for 1 more award

    Won
  2. God's Children Are Little Broken Things

    Arinze Ifeakandu

    Shortlisted
  3. Mecca

    Susan Straight

    Shortlisted
  4. Scary Monsters

    Michelle de Kretser

    Won 1 more award

    Shortlisted

  5. Scattered All Over the Earth

    Yoko TawadaMargaret Mitsutani (tr.)

    Shortlisted
  6. The Books of Jacob

    Olga Tokarczuk

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted

2021

  1. Harrow

    Joy Williams

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Won
  2. Bolla

    Pajtim StatovciDavid Hackston (tr.)

    Shortlisted
  3. Harlem Shuffle

    Colson Whitehead

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  4. My Monticello

    Jocelyn Nicole Johnson

    Shortlisted
  5. The Dangers of Smoking in Bed

    Mariana Enríquez

    Nominated for 3 more awards

    Shortlisted
  6. The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois

    Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

    Won 1 more award

    Shortlisted

2020

  1. Luster

    Raven Leilani

    Won
  2. Black Sunday

    Tola Rotimi Abraham

    Shortlisted
  3. Deacon King Kong

    James McBride

    Won 2 more awards

    Shortlisted
  4. Fiebre Tropical

    Juliana Delgado Lopera

    Shortlisted
  5. Shuggie Bain

    Douglas Stuart

    Won 1 more award · Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  6. The Lying Life of Adults

    Elena FerranteAnn Goldstein (tr.)

    Shortlisted

2019

  1. The Nickel Boys

    Colson Whitehead

    Won 2 more awards · Nominated for 3 more awards

    Won
  2. Cantoras

    Carolina De Robertis

    Shortlisted
  3. Lost Children Archive

    Valeria Luiselli

    Won 3 more awards · Nominated for 2 more awards

    Shortlisted
  4. On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous

    Ocean Vuong

    Nominated for 2 more awards

    Shortlisted
  5. Territory of Light

    Yūko TsushimaGeraldine Harcourt (tr.)

    Shortlisted
  6. The Other Americans

    Laila Lalami

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted

2018

  1. Severance

    Ling Ma

    Won
  2. Florida

    Lauren Groff

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  3. Halsey Street

    Naima Coster

    Shortlisted
  4. Heads of the Colored People

    Nafissa Thompson-Spires

    Shortlisted
  5. Mourning

    Eduardo HalfonLisa Dillman (tr.)Daniel Hahn (tr.)

    Shortlisted
  6. Tell the Machine Goodnight

    Katie Williams

    Shortlisted

2017

  1. What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky

    Lesley Nneka Arimah

    Won
  2. Exit West

    Mohsin Hamid

    Won 1 more award · Nominated for 5 more awards

    Shortlisted
  3. Her Body and Other Parties

    Carmen Maria Machado

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  4. Sing, Unburied, Sing

    Jesmyn Ward

    Won 2 more awards · Nominated for 5 more awards

    Shortlisted
  5. The Ninth Hour

    Alice McDermott

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  6. White Tears

    Hari Kunzru

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted

2016

  1. The Sport of Kings

    C. E. Morgan

    Nominated for 3 more awards

    Won
  2. A Gentleman in Moscow

    Amor Towles

    Shortlisted
  3. Barkskins

    Annie Proulx

    Shortlisted
  4. Carousel Court

    Joe McGinniss Jr.

    Shortlisted
  5. Imagine Me Gone

    Adam Haslett

    Won 1 more award · Nominated for 2 more awards

    Shortlisted
  6. The Underground Railroad

    Colson Whitehead

    Won 4 more awards · Nominated for 2 more awards

    Shortlisted

2015

  1. A Little Life

    Hanya Yanagihara

    Nominated for 5 more awards

    Won
  2. A Manual for Cleaning Women

    Lucia BerlinStephen Emerson (ed.)

    Shortlisted
  3. Fates and Furies

    Lauren Groff

    Nominated for 2 more awards

    Shortlisted
  4. The Book of Aron

    Jim Shepard

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  5. The Incarnations

    Susan Barker

    Shortlisted
  6. The Story of My Teeth

    Valeria Luiselli

    Won 1 more award · Nominated for 2 more awards

    Shortlisted

2014

  1. Euphoria

    Lily King

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Won
  2. All Our Names

    Dinaw Mengestu

    Shortlisted
  3. Florence Gordon

    Brian Morton

    Shortlisted
  4. The Blazing World

    Siri Hustvedt

    Won 1 more award · Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  5. The Paying Guests

    Sarah Waters

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  6. The Remedy for Love

    Bill Roorbach

    Shortlisted

Frequently asked questions

Who won the Kirkus Prize for Fiction in 2026?
“Kin” by Tayari Jones won the Kirkus Prize for Fiction in 2026.
Who are the most recent Kirkus Prize for Fiction winners?
2026: “Kin” by Tayari Jones; 2025: “The Slip” by Lucas Schaefer; 2024: “James” by Percival Everett; 2023: “The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store” by James McBride; 2022: “Trust” by Hernán Díaz.