Aspen Words Literary Prize

Aspen Words Literary Prize 2025 longlist announced

The Aspen Words Literary Prize 2025 longlist was announced in Aspen, USA on Wednesday, November 13, 2024.

The Aspen Words Literary Prize is an annual award for an influential work of fiction that illuminates a vital contemporary issue and demonstrates the transformative power of literature on thought and culture in the US. Eligible works include novels or short story collections that address questions of violence, inequality, gender, the environment, immigration, religion, race, or other social issues. Past winners include Mohsin Hamid (2018), Tayari Jones (2019), Christy Lefteri (2020), Erdrich (2021), and Dawnie Walton (2022) while shortlistees include Laila Lalami and Nicole Dennis-Benn. Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Aaliyah Bilal, Jamel Brinkley, and James McBride were on the 2024 shortlist.

The jury for the prize Dr. John Deasy, Louise Erdrich (the 2021 AWLP winner), Ben Fountain, Vanessa Hua, and Tayari Jones (the 2019 winner) read the submissions and selected a longlist of 14 titles.

“The Aspen Words Literary Prize honors fiction that delves fearlessly into the most pressing social challenges of our time, examining both the personal and collective impacts of issues like racial injustice, generational trauma, immigration, and gender equity,” said Aspen Words Executive Director Adrienne Brodeur. “This year’s longlist showcases an extraordinary range of voices—both emerging and established—whose stories confront the complex realities of our world with empathy, insight, and urgency.”

The writers of African descent on the longlist are;

  • Sky Full of Elephants, Cebo Campbell (Simon & Schuster)
  • James, Percival Everett (Doubleday)
  • Kingdom of No Tomorrow, Fabienne Josaphat (Algonquin)
  • The Road to the Salt Sea, Samuel Kolawole (Amistad/HarperCollins)
  • Before the Mango Ripens, Afabwaje Kurian (Dzanc Books)
  • Devil Is Fine, John Vercher (Celadon Books)

Reactions

It is an honor to be among such amazing writers. Thank you @AspenWords @AlgonquinBooks.

Fabienne Josaphat

So incredibly excited and honored to have been longlisted for the 2025 Aspen Words Literary Prize! Congratulations to all the longlisted authors! Please join in celebrating AND reading these novels!

Afabwaje Kurian

The five finalists 2025 will be announced on March 12, 2025, and the winner will be revealed at an awards celebration at the Morgan Library in New York City on April 23, 2025.

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