The finalists for the 2024 PEN/Faulkner Award, given annually to an outstanding work of fiction written by a permanent U.S. resident, have been revealed.
Jamel Brinkley made the shortlist for Witness, his story collection about people confronted with the obligation to speak up for others. The book was a finalist for the Kirkus Prize and was longlisted for the Joyce Carol Oates Prize, the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction, and the Aspen Words Literary Prize.
Henry Hoke was named a finalist for Open Throat, his novel about a queer mountain lion on the loose in Los Angeles. Hoke’s book was also shortlisted for the Barnes & Noble Discover Prize. Alice McDermott made the shortlist for her novel Absolution, about two American women living in Saigon during the Vietnam War.
Claire Jiménez was shortlisted for What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez, her novel about a Puerto Rican family on Staten Island trying to meet a reality TV cast member who could be their long-lost sister. And Colin Winnette was named a finalist for the novel Users, about an engineer at a virtual reality company who creates a product that outrages the public.
The PEN/Faulkner Award was established in 1981. Previous winners include Don DeLillo for Mao II, Karen Joy Fowler for We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, and Deesha Philyaw for The Secret Lives of Church Ladies.
The winner of this year’s prize will be announced in early April.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
