The PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction revealed the longlist for its 2026 prize, which “honors the best published works of fiction by American permanent residents in a calendar year.”
Lily King made the longlist for Heart the Lover, while Addie E. Citchens was nominated for Dominion. Brandon Hobson was longlisted for The Devil Is a Southpaw, as were Jonas Hassen Khemiri for The Sisters and S.A. Cosby for King of Ashes.
Also making the longlist were Fernando A. Flores for Brother Brontë, Quiara Alegría Hudes for The White Hot, Carrie R. Moore for Make Your Way Home, Ed Park for An Oral History of Atlantis, and Mahreen Sohail for Small Scale Sinners.
Lauren Francis-Sharma, the PEN/Faulkner Awards committee chair, said in a statement, “The complexities and richness of this year’s list reflect the serious concerns of many American readers—legacy, familial connection, corruption, and the plight of men and our youth—all while offering an abundance of hope, a bounty of beauty, and heaps of tenderness.”
The PEN/Faulkner Award was established in 1981. Previous winners include E.L. Doctorow for Billy Bathgate and The March; Ann Patchett for Bel Canto; Imbolo Mbue for Behold the Dreamers; and Garth Greenwell for Small Rain.
The shortlist for the prize will be made public in early March, with the winner announced in April.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
