• The Hub

    News, Notes, Talk

    Here’s the shortlist for the Center for Fiction’s 2022 First Novel Prize.

    Corinne Segal

    September 29, 2022, 11:52am

    The Center for Fiction has announced the shortlist for its 2022 First Novel Prize, which honors “the best debut fiction of the year” with a $15,000 prize.

    The seven books on the list were selected by judges Matt Bell, Nicole Dennis-Benn, Megha Majumdar, Rebecca Makkai, and Chigozie Obioma from a longlist of 24 debut novels. Each shortlisted author will receive $1,000 and the winner will be announced at The Center for Fiction Annual Awards Benefit on December 6.

    Here is the shortlist:

    Daphne Palasi Andreades, Brown Girls
    (Penguin Random House / Random House)

    Jessamine Chan, The School for Good Mothers
    (Simon & Schuster)

    Isabel Kaplan, NSFW
    (Macmillan / Henry Holt and Company)

    Noor Naga, If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English
    (Graywolf Press)

    Alyssa Songsiridej, Little Rabbit
    (Bloomsbury Publishing)

    Mecca Jamilah Sullivan, Big Girl
    (W. W. Norton & Company / Liveright)

    Vauhini Vara, The Immortal King Rao
    (W. W. Norton & Company)

    Congratulations to the authors!

  • Become a Lit Hub Supporting Member: Because Books Matter

    For the past decade, Literary Hub has brought you the best of the book world for free—no paywall. But our future relies on you. In return for a donation, you’ll get an ad-free reading experience, exclusive editors’ picks, book giveaways, and our coveted Joan Didion Lit Hub tote bag. Most importantly, you’ll keep independent book coverage alive and thriving on the internet.

    x