The longlists for the Pen America Literary Awards 2023 were announced Friday, January 20, 2023. Here are the writers of African descent who made the lists.
PEN America is an organisation that works to defend and celebrate free expression in the United States through the advancement of literature and human rights since it was founded in 1922. They hold annual awards celebrating outstanding voices in translation, fiction, poetry, science writing, essay, sports writing, biography, children’s literature, and drama since 1963. In 2022, some of the winners were Tiya Miles and Ngugi Wa Thiong’o.
The longlists for 2023 were revealed on Friday and the finalists will be announced in February 2023. Here are the writers of African descent who made the cut;
PEN/JEAN STEIN BOOK AWARD ($75,000)
To a book-length work of any genre for its originality, merit, and impact, which has broken new ground by reshaping the boundaries of its form and signaling strong potential for lasting influence.
Judges: Joan Naviyuk Kane, Lauren Groff, Madeleine Thien
- My Pinup, Hilton Als (New Directions Publishing Corporation)
- If I Survive You, Jonathan Escoffery (MCD)
- Dr. No, Percival Everett (Graywolf Press)
- If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English, Noor Naga (Graywolf Press)
- The White Mosque, Sofia Samatar (Catapult)
PEN OPEN BOOK AWARD ($10,000)
To an exceptional book-length work of any literary genre by an author of color.
Judges: Jenn Baker, Maurice Carlos Ruffin, Nina McConigley, Erika L. Sanchez
- Golden Ax, Rio Cortez (Penguin Books)
- The Black Period, Hafizah Augustus Geter (Random House)
- The Listening Skin: Poems, Glenis Redmond (Four Way Books
- Gorgoneion, Casey Rocheteau (Noemi Press)
- Last Summer on State Street, Toya Wolfe (William Morrow & Company)
PEN/ROBERT W. BINGHAM PRIZE FOR DEBUT SHORT STORY COLLECTION ($25,000)
To an author whose debut collection of short stories represents distinguished literary achievement and suggests great promise for future work.
Judges: Nafissa Thompson Spires, Chris Gonzalez, Susan Muaddi Darraj
- If I Survive You, Jonathan Escoffery (MCD)
- A Down Home Meal for These Difficult Times, Meron Hadero (Restless Books)
PEN/HEMINGWAY AWARD FOR DEBUT NOVEL ($10,000)
To a debut novel of exceptional literary merit by an American author.
Judges: Gina Apostol, Oscar Cásares, Matthew Salesses
- Nightcrawling, Leila Mottley (Alfred A. Knopf)
PEN/VOELCKER AWARD FOR POETRY COLLECTION ($5,000)
To a poet whose distinguished collection of poetry represents a notable and accomplished literary presence.
Judges: Kimiko Hahn, Molly McCully Brown, Allison Rollins, Willie Perdomo
- Smoking the Bible, Chris Abani (Copper Canyon Press)
- Maafa, Harmony Holiday (Fence Books)
- To The Realization of Perfect Helplessness, Robin Coste Lewis (Penguin Random House)
- Cain Named The Animal, Shane Mcrae (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
- Then The War, Carl Phillips (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
- Best Barbarian, Roger Reeves (W. W. Norton & Company)
PEN AWARD FOR POETRY IN TRANSLATION ($3,000)
For a book-length translation of poetry from any language into English.
Judges: Baba Badji, Mona Kareem, Julia Leverone
- No Way in the Skin without This Bloody Embrace, Jean D’Amérique (Ugly Duckling Presse) Translated from French by Conor Bracken
PEN TRANSLATION PRIZE ($3,000)
For a book-length translation of prose from any language into English.
Judges: Layla Benitez-James, Slava Faybysh, Sora Kim-Russell, Elton Uliana
- All Your Children, Scattered, Beata Umybyeyi Mairesse (Europa Editions) Translated from French by Alison Anderson
PEN/JOHN KENNETH GALBRAITH AWARD FOR NONFICTION ($10,000)
For a distinguished book of general nonfiction possessing notable literary merit and critical perspective that illuminates important contemporary issues.
Judges: Sanjiv Bhattacharya, Geraldo Cadava, Sofija Stefanovic
- Bad Mexicans: Race, Empire, and Revolution in the Borderlands, Kelly Lytle Hernandez (W. W. Norton & Company)
- South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation, Imani Perry (HarperCollinsPublishers)
- The Viral Underclass: The Human Toll When Inequality and Disease Collide, Steven W. Thrasher (Celadon Books)
