Safia Elhillo and Jesmyn Ward are among the Neustadt International Prize for Literature 2026 finalists announced on Wednesday, June 11, 2025.
The Neustadt International Prize for Literature is a biennial award sponsored by the University of Oklahoma and its international literary publication, World Literature Today. The prize for adult literature is awarded to a living writer anywhere in any genre. A generous endowment from the Neustadt family of Dallas, Denver, and Watertown, Massachusetts, ensures the award in perpetuity. First awarded to Italian poet Giuseppe Ungaretti in 1970, it has been won by Ananda Devi, Nuruddin Farah, Mia Couto, Edwige Danticat, and Boris Boubacar Diop. Chris Abani, Aminatta Forna, and Abdellatif Laâbi have been finalists.
The 2026 jury is comprised of Threa Almontaser, Maya Arad, Polina Barskova, Victoria Chang, Elisabeth Jaquette, Beena Kamlani, Shereen Malherbe, Iheoma Nwachukwu, and Alejandro Puyana. This jury announced the finalists for the prize on Wednesday, June 11.
“We live in troubled times, and the Neustadt Prize, recognizing the best writers in the world, is a beacon of hope for the human adventure,” said Robert Con Davis-Undiano, executive director of World Literature Today, the prize’s sponsor. “Literature enhances our ability to recognize who we are and who we can become, and the work of the Neustadt jury year after year reflects the ongoing importance of literature in our lives.”
Works by writers of African descent in the running are;
- The January Children, Safia Elhillo
- Sing, Unburied, Sing, Jesmyn Ward
The prize winner, who receives $50,000, a silver replica of an eagle feather, a prize certificate, and a festival hosted in their honor, will be announced on Tuesday, October 21, during the Neustadt Lit Fest.
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