Pen America Literary Awards 2025 finalists announced

The Pen America Literary Awards 2025 finalists were announced in New York, USA, on Thursday, April 10, 2025. Here are the writers of African descent who made the cut.

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 honouring 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 2024 ceremony was canceled primarily due to a large number of nominated authors and translators withdrawing from the awards in protest of PEN America’s response to the war in Gaza.

PEN America announced the 2025 finalists and winners on April 10, including work by Palestinian writers.

Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf, interim co-chief executive officer of PEN America and chief of literary programming, said: “Extraordinary books change our lives, compelling us to view the world through a new, often stunning lens. As books come under withering censorship across this country, we are excited to celebrate the freedom they represent, along with their power to spark compassion for others and move us to act with our hearts in troubling times. These exceptional writers, the stories they tell and the ideas they probe, build empathy and understanding— sorely needed today— and bring hope that these values will rule our thinking.”

The writers of African descent in the different categories are;

PEN/NABOKOV AWARD FOR ACHIEVEMENT IN INTERNATIONAL LITERATURE ($50,000)

Founded in 2016 in collaboration with the Vladimir Nabokov Literary Foundation, the $50,000 award is conferred annually to a living author whose body of work—either written in or translated into English—represents the highest level of achievement in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and/or drama, and is of enduring originality and consummate craftsmanship.

• Mia Couto – for his body of work

The PEN/Nabokov jury cited him for probing his homeland’s fraught history “as well as essential riddles of identity and existence.” Couto, who writes in Portuguese, has held “a singular place in the landscape of both African and world literature,” the judges wrote.

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: Julie Agoos, Eric Borsuk

• Dead in Long Beach, California, Venita Blackburn (MCD)

PEN OPEN BOOK AWARD ($10,000)

To an exceptional book-length work of any literary genre by an author of color.

Judges: Kendra Allen, Cassandra Jackson, Malavika Kannan, Richie Narvaez, Jacinda Townsend

• Vengeance Feminism: The Power of Black Women’s Fury in Lawless Times, Kali Nicole Gross (Seal Press)
• The Dark Delight of Being Strange: Black Stories of Freedom, James B. Haile, III (Columbia University Press)
• The Blueprint, Rae Giana Rashad (Harper)

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: Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum, Leah Hampton, Wendy Wimmer

• Softie, Megan Howell (West Virginia University Press)
• I’ll Give You a Reason, Annell López (Feminist Press)
• Japa and Other Stories, Iheoma Nwachukwu (University of Georgia Press)

PEN/HEMINGWAY AWARD FOR DEBUT NOVEL ($10,000)

To a debut novel of exceptional literary merit by an American author.

Judges: Lauren Acampora, Allegra Goodman, Akhil Sharma

• Dead in Long Beach, California, Venita Blackburn (MCD)
• The Road to the Salt Sea, Samuel Kọ́láwọlé (Amistad)

PEN/VOELCKER AWARD FOR POETRY COLLECTION ($5,000)

To a poet whose distinguished collection of poetry represents a notable and accomplished literary presence.

Judges: Carrie Fountain, Laura Kasischke, Maurice Manning, Ander Monson, Sheila Squillante

• Yard Show, Janice N. Harrington (BOA Editions)
• Load in Nine Times, Frank X Walker (Liveright)

PEN/DIAMONSTEIN-SPIELVOGEL AWARD FOR THE ART OF THE ESSAY ($15,000)

For a seasoned writer whose collection of essays is an expansion on their corpus of work and preserves the distinguished art form of the essay.

Judges: Peter Catapano, Adam Davidson, Guy Nordenson

• Magically Black and Other Essays, Jerald Walker (Amistad)

The winners will be announced at a ceremony in New York, USA, on Thursday, May 8, 2025.