Our Awards
Celebrating great literary achievements has lived at the heart of our organization since its founding in 1980, when Mary Lee Settle established the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction: the only major literary award given BY fiction writers TO fiction writers. In more than four decades since, we have expanded our effort to call the world’s attention to noteworthy literary artistry and advocacy, adding the PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story and the PEN/Faulkner Literary Champion to our roster of annual recognitions.
The PEN/Faulkner Award
National Prize for Fiction
The most prestigious annual peer-juried literary prize in America, honoring the best published works of fiction by American permanent residents in a calendar year.
The PEN/Malamud Award
for Excellence in the Short Story
Established by Bernard Malamud’s family, the award is presented to writers who have demonstrated exceptional achievement in the short story form.
The PEN/Faulkner Literary Champion
A commendation presented in recognition of devoted literary advocacy and a commitment to inspiring new generations of readers and writers.
Terry Gross is our 2023 PEN/Faulkner Literary Champion
We are excited to announce that long-time Fresh Air host and co-executive producer Terry Gross has been selected as the 2023 PEN/Faulkner Literary Champion. This annual commendation recognizes a...
Yiyun Li Wins the 2022 PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story
The PEN/Faulkner Foundation announces that Yiyun Li has been selected as the winner of the 2022 PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story. Given since 1988 in honor of the late Bernard...
Announcing the Winner of the 2022 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction
We are excited to announce that Rabih Alameddine’s The Wrong End of the Telescope (Grove Atlantic) has been selected as the winner of the 2022 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. “This year’s judges...
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