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PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction

PEN/Faulkner Foundation

An annual American literary award given to the best published works of fiction by American authors, judged by a panel of writers; one of the largest peer-juried fiction prizes in the United States.

Latest winner · 2026

Next · expected March 2027

Shortlist announced Full award calendar

Search through 7,609 books

2026

  1. Small Scale Sinners

    Mahreen Sohail

    Won
  2. Dominion

    Addie E. Citchens

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  3. Heart the Lover

    Lily King

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  4. The Sisters

    Jonas Hassen Khemiri

    Shortlisted
  5. The White Hot

    Quiara Alegría Hudes

    Shortlisted

2025

  1. Small Rain

    Garth Greenwell

    Won
  2. Behind You Is the Sea

    Susan Muaddi Darraj

    Shortlisted
  3. Colored Television

    Danzy Senna

    Won 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  4. Ghostroots

    'Pemi Aguda

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  5. James

    Percival Everett

    Won 4 more awards · Nominated for 5 more awards

    Shortlisted

2024

  1. What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez

    Claire Jiménez

    Won
  2. Absolution

    Alice McDermott

    Shortlisted
  3. Open Throat

    Henry Hoke

    Shortlisted
  4. Users

    Colin Winnette

    Shortlisted
  5. Witness

    Jamel Brinkley

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted

2023

  1. The Book of Goose

    Yiyun Li

    Won
  2. Fruiting Bodies: Stories

    Kathryn Harlan

    Shortlisted
  3. If I Survive You

    Jonathan Escoffery

    Nominated for 2 more awards

    Shortlisted
  4. Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm

    Laura Warrell

    Shortlisted
  5. The Islands

    Dionne Irving

    Shortlisted

2020

  1. Sea Monsters

    Chloe Aridjis

    Won
  2. On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous

    Ocean Vuong

    Nominated for 2 more awards

    Shortlisted
  3. The Night Swimmers

    Peter Rock

    Shortlisted
  4. We Cast a Shadow

    Maurice Carlos Ruffin

    Shortlisted
  5. Where Reasons End

    Yiyun Li

    Shortlisted

2019

  1. Call Me Zebra

    Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi

    Won
  2. Don't Skip Out on Me

    Willy Vlautin

    Shortlisted
  3. Love War Stories

    Ivelisse Rodriguez

    Shortlisted
  4. The Overstory

    Richard Powers

    Won 1 more award · Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  5. Tomb of the Unknown Racist

    Blanche McCrary Boyd

    Shortlisted

2018

  1. Improvement

    Joan Silber

    Won 1 more award

    Won
  2. In the Distance

    Hernán Diaz

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  3. Sing, Unburied, Sing

    Jesmyn Ward

    Won 2 more awards · Nominated for 5 more awards

    Shortlisted
  4. The Dark Dark

    Samantha Hunt

    Shortlisted
  5. The Tower of the Antilles

    Achy Obejas

    Shortlisted

2017

  1. Behold the Dreamers

    Imbolo Mbue

    Won
  2. After Disasters

    Viet Dinh

    Shortlisted
  3. LaRose

    Louise Erdrich

    Won 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  4. What Belongs to You

    Garth Greenwell

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  5. Your Heart is a Muscle the Size of a Fist

    Sunil Yapa

    Shortlisted

2016

  1. Delicious Foods

    James Hannaham

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Won
  2. Mendocino Fire: Stories

    Elizabeth Tallent

    Shortlisted
  3. Mr. and Mrs. Doctor

    Julie Iromuanya

    Shortlisted
  4. The Sympathizer

    Viet Thanh Nguyen

    Won 2 more awards · Nominated for 2 more awards

    Shortlisted
  5. The Water Museum: Stories

    Luis Alberto Urrea

    Shortlisted

2015

  1. Preparation for the Next Life

    Atticus Lish

    Won
  2. Dept. of Speculation

    Jenny Offill

    Nominated for 3 more awards

    Shortlisted
  3. Prayers for the Stolen

    Jennifer Clement

    Shortlisted
  4. Song of the Shank

    Jeffrey Renard Allen

    Shortlisted
  5. Station Eleven

    Emily St. John Mandel

    Won 1 more award · Nominated for 3 more awards

    Shortlisted

2014

  1. We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves

    Karen Joy Fowler

    Nominated for 2 more awards

    Won
  2. At Night We Walk in Circles

    Daniel Alarcón

    Shortlisted
  3. Fools

    Joan Silber

    Shortlisted
  4. Percival Everett by Virgil Russell

    Percival Everett

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  5. Search Party: Stories of Rescue

    Valerie Trueblood

    Shortlisted

2013

  1. Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club

    Benjamin Alire Sáenz

    Won
  2. Hold It 'Til It Hurts

    T. Geronimo Johnson

    Shortlisted
  3. Kind One

    Laird Hunt

    Won 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  4. THREATS

    Amelia Gray

    Shortlisted
  5. Watergate

    Thomas Mallon

    Shortlisted

2010

  1. War Dances

    Sherman Alexie

    Won
  2. A Gate at the Stairs

    Lorrie Moore

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  3. Homicide Survivors Picnic

    Lorraine Lopéz

    Shortlisted
  4. Sag Harbor

    Colson Whitehead

    Shortlisted
  5. The Lacuna

    Barbara Kingsolver

    Won 1 more award · Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted

2009

  1. Netherland

    Joseph O'Neill

    Nominated for 2 more awards

    Won
  2. A Person of Interest

    Susan Choi

    Shortlisted
  3. Lush Life

    Richard Price

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  4. Ms. Hempel Chronicles

    Sarah Shun-lien Bynum

    Shortlisted
  5. Serena

    Ron Rash

    Shortlisted

2006

  1. The March

    E.L. Doctorow

    Won 1 more award · Nominated for 3 more awards

    Won
  2. A Sudden Country

    Karen Fisher

    Shortlisted
  3. I Got Somebody in Staunton

    William Henry Lewis

    Shortlisted
  4. Last Night

    James Salter

    Shortlisted
  5. The Chrysanthemum Palace

    Bruce Wagner

    Shortlisted

2005

  1. War Trash

    Ha Jin

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Won
  2. Gilead

    Marilynne Robinson

    Won 2 more awards · Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  3. Prisoners of War

    Steve Yarbrough

    Shortlisted
  4. The Dew Breaker

    Edwidge Danticat

    Won 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  5. The Green Lantern

    Jerome Charyn

    Shortlisted

2004

  1. The Early Stories: 1953-1975

    John Updike

    Won
  2. A Distant Shore

    Caryl Phillips

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  3. Drinking Coffee Elsewhere

    ZZ Packer

    Shortlisted
  4. Elroy Nights

    Frederick Barthelme

    Shortlisted
  5. Old School

    Tobias Wolff

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted

2003

  1. The Caprices

    Sabina Murray

    Won
  2. Little Casino

    Gilbert Sorrentino

    Shortlisted
  3. Roscoe

    William Kennedy

    Shortlisted
  4. The City of Your Final Destination

    Peter Cameron

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  5. The Ecstatic

    Victor LaValle

    Shortlisted

2002

  1. Bel Canto

    Ann Patchett

    Won 1 more award · Nominated for 1 more award

    Won
  2. Sister Noon

    Karen Joy Fowler

    Shortlisted
  3. The Corrections

    Jonathan Franzen

    Won 2 more awards · Nominated for 3 more awards

    Shortlisted
  4. The Death of Vishnu

    Manil Suri

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  5. The Hunters

    Claire Messud

    Shortlisted

2001

  1. The Human Stain

    Philip Roth

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Won
  2. Harry Gold

    Millicent Dillon

    Shortlisted
  3. Off Keck Road

    Mona Simpson

    Shortlisted
  4. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay

    Michael Chabon

    Won 1 more award · Nominated for 2 more awards

    Shortlisted
  5. The Name of the World

    Denis Johnson

    Shortlisted

2000

  1. Waiting

    Ha Jin

    Won 1 more award · Nominated for 2 more awards

    Won
  2. Amy and Isabelle

    Elizabeth Strout

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  3. Pu-239 And Other Russian Fantasies

    Ken Kalfus

    Shortlisted
  4. Siam, or the Woman Who Shot a Man

    Lily Tuck

    Shortlisted
  5. The Night Inspector

    Frederick Busch

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted

1999

  1. The Hours

    Michael Cunningham

    Won 1 more award · Nominated for 2 more awards

    Won
  2. Cloudsplitter

    Russell Banks

    Won 1 more award · Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  3. Starting Out in the Evening

    Brian Morton

    Shortlisted
  4. The Doctor Stories

    Richard Selzer

    Shortlisted
  5. The Poisonwood Bible

    Barbara Kingsolver

    Nominated for 2 more awards

    Shortlisted

1998

  1. The Bear Comes Home

    Rafi Zabor

    Won
  2. Because They Wanted To

    Mary Gaitskill

    Shortlisted
  3. The Hundred Brothers

    Donald Antrim

    Shortlisted
  4. The Mercy Seat

    Rilla Askew

    Shortlisted
  5. The Ordinary Seaman

    Francisco Goldman

    Nominated for 2 more awards

    Shortlisted

1997

  1. Women in Their Beds

    Gina Berriault

    Won 1 more award

    Won
  2. Atticus

    Ron Hansen

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  3. St. Burl's Obituary

    Daniel Akst

    Shortlisted
  4. The Autobiography of My Mother

    Jamaica Kincaid

    Shortlisted
  5. The Book of Mercy

    Kathleen Cambor

    Shortlisted

1996

  1. Independence Day

    Richard Ford

    Won 1 more award · Nominated for 1 more award

    Won
  2. All Souls' Rising

    Madison Smartt Bell

    Won 1 more award · Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  3. The Good Negress

    A. J. Verdelle

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  4. The Tunnel

    William H. Gass

    Shortlisted
  5. When The World Was Steady

    Claire Messud

    Shortlisted

1995

  1. Snow Falling on Cedars

    David Guterson

    Won
  2. Stones from the River

    Ursula Hegi

    Shortlisted
  3. The Children in the Woods

    Frederick Busch

    Shortlisted
  4. Various Antidotes

    Joanna Scott

    Shortlisted
  5. What I Lived For

    Joyce Carol Oates

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted

1992

  1. Mao II

    Don DeLillo

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Won
  2. Extraordinary People

    Paul Gervais

    Shortlisted
  3. Frog

    Stephen Dixon

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  4. White People

    Allan Gurganus

    Won 1 more award

    Shortlisted

1991

  1. Philadelphia Fire

    John Edgar Wideman

    Won
  2. A Gentleman's Guide to the Frontier

    Joanne Meschery

    Shortlisted
  3. Arrogance

    Joanna Scott

    Shortlisted
  4. The Barnum Museum

    Steven Millhauser

    Shortlisted
  5. The Music of Chance

    Paul Auster

    Shortlisted

1990

  1. Billy Bathgate

    E. L. Doctorow

    Won 1 more award · Nominated for 1 more award

    Won
  2. Affliction

    Russell Banks

    Shortlisted
  3. Leaving Brooklyn

    Lynne Sharon Schwartz

    Shortlisted

  4. On the Island: New and Selected Stories

    Josephine Jacobsen

    Shortlisted
  5. The Jump-Off Creek

    Molly Gloss

    Shortlisted

1989

  1. Dusk and Other Stories

    James Salter

    Won
  2. The Corner of Rife and Pacific

    Thomas Savage

    Shortlisted
  3. The Death of Methuselah and Other Stories

    Isaac Bashevis Singer

    Shortlisted
  4. Vanished

    Mary McGarry Morris

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted

1986

  1. The Old Forest and Other Stories

    Peter Taylor

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Won
  2. Carpenter's Gothic

    William Gaddis

    Shortlisted
  3. Later the Same Day

    Grace Paley

    Shortlisted
  4. Lonesome Dove

    Larry McMurtry

    Won 1 more award · Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  5. The Christmas Wife: Stories

    Helen Norris

    Shortlisted
  6. The Tree of Life

    Hugh Nissenson

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted

1985

  1. The Barracks Thief

    Tobias Wolff

    Won
  2. Family Dancing

    David Leavitt

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  3. On Glory's Course

    James Purdy

    Shortlisted
  4. Stones for Ibarra

    Harriet Doerr

    Nominated for 2 more awards

    Shortlisted
  5. The Dixie Association

    Donald Hays

    Shortlisted

1982

  1. The Chaneysville Incident

    David Bradley

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Won
  2. A Flag for Sunrise

    Robert Stone

    Won 1 more award · Nominated for 4 more awards

    Shortlisted
  3. Ellis Island and Other Stories

    Mark Helprin

    Nominated for 2 more awards

    Shortlisted
  4. Housekeeping

    Marilynne Robinson

    Nominated for 2 more awards

    Shortlisted
  5. Sixty Stories

    Donald Barthelme

    Nominated for 2 more awards

    Shortlisted
  6. Take Me Back

    Richard Bausch

    Shortlisted

1981

  1. How German Is It

    Walter Abish

    Won
  2. A Confederacy of Dunces

    John Kennedy Toole

    Won 1 more award · Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  3. Aberration of Starlight

    Gilbert Sorrentino

    Shortlisted
  4. The Second Coming

    Walker Percy

    Won 1 more award · Nominated for 3 more awards

    Shortlisted
  5. The Transit of Venus

    Shirley Hazzard

    Won 1 more award · Nominated for 2 more awards

    Shortlisted

Frequently asked questions

Who won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction in 2026?
“Small Scale Sinners” by Mahreen Sohail won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction in 2026.
Who are the most recent PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction winners?
2026: “Small Scale Sinners” by Mahreen Sohail; 2025: “Small Rain” by Garth Greenwell; 2024: “What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez” by Claire Jiménez; 2023: “The Book of Goose” by Yiyun Li; 2022: “The Wrong End of the Telescope” by Rabih Alameddine.
Has anyone won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction more than once?
Yes - 3 authors have: Philip Roth (1994, 2001, 2007); John Edgar Wideman (1984, 1991); Ha Jin (2000, 2005).