Announcing the finalists for the $35,000 Aspen Words Literary Prize.

The Aspen Institute has just announced the shortlist for their Aspen Words Literary Prize, an annual award honoring a work of fiction that highlights important contemporary issues. This year’s finalists were selected by Alexander Chee, Amy Garmer, Saeed Jones, Helen Obermeyer, and Esmeralda Santiago. The winner will be celebrated at a ceremony at The Morgan Library on April 16th and will receive $35,000.

Congratulations to the finalists!

Brian Allen Carr, Opioid Indiana
(Soho Press)

Nicole Dennis-Benn, Patsy
(Liveright)

Christy Lefteri, The Beekeeper of Aleppo
(Ballantine)

Valeria Luiselli, Lost Children Archive
(Knopf)

Bryan Washington, Lot
(Riverhead)