Meet the Judges for the 2016 PEN Literary Awards

PEN is excited to introduce the 2016 Literary Awards judges—a group of some of the most distinguished writers, translators, and editors working today. Mark your calendars with the following dates on which their decisions will be announced:

Longlists announced: December 7
Shortlists announced: February 2
 Winners announced: March 1
PEN Literary Awards Ceremony: April 11

PEN/Saul Bellow Award for Achievement in American Fiction ($25,000)

For a distinguished living American author of fiction:

Louise Erdrich
Dinaw Mengestu
Francine Prose

PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize ($25,000)

For an outstanding work of debut fiction:

Helon Habila
Elizabeth McCracken
Edie Meidav
Jess Row

PEN/Bellwether Award for Socially Engaged Fiction($25,000)

For a writer of fiction that addresses issues of social justice:

Laila Lalami
Kathy Pories
Brando Skyhorse

PEN/Fusion Emerging Writers Prize ($10,000)

 For a promising young writer of an unpublished work of nonfiction that addresses a global and/or multi-cultural issue:

Marie Arana
Manuel Gonzales
Johnny Temple

PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay ($10,000) 

For a distinguished book of essays:

Verlyn Klinkenborg
Meghan O’Rourke
Luc Sante

PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award ($10,000) 

For a book of literary nonfiction on the subject of the physical or biological sciences:

Joshua Foer
Virginia Hughes
Sonia Shah

PEN Open Book Award ($5,000)

For an exceptional work of literature by an author of color:

Rachel Eliza Griffiths
Celeste Ng
Héctor Tobar

PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award ($5,000) 

For excellence in the art of biography:

Nell Irvin Painter
Deborah Solomon
Simon Winchester

PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Awards ($7,500 and $2,500) 

Three awards which honor a Grand Master of American Theater, playwright in mid-career and emerging playwright:

Annie Baker
Kirsten Greenidge
Tracy Letts

PEN/Voelcker Award for Poetry ($5,000)

For a poet whose distinguished and growing body of work to date represents a notable accomplishment in American literature:

Catherine Barnett
Jericho Brown
Tina Chang

PEN/ESPN Lifetime Achievement Award for Literary Sports Writing ($5,000)

For a writer for their long-time contributions to the field of literary sports writing:

Senator Bill Bradley
Sally Jenkins
Dave Kindred

PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing ($5,000)
For an author of a nonfiction book about sports:

David Epstein
Ann Killion
Dave Zirin

PEN/Phyllis Naylor Working Writer Fellowship ($5,000) 

For an author of an unpublished work of children’s or young-adult fiction:

Emily Arnold McCully
Katherine Paterson
Jason Reynolds

PEN Translation Prize ($3,000)

For a distinguished book-length prose translation:

Elisabeth Jaquette
Aviya Kushner
Ronald Meyer
Sara Nović
Jeffrey Zuckerman

PEN Award for Poetry in Translation ($3,000)

For a book-length translation of poetry into English:

Urayoán Noel

PEN/Edward and Lily Tuck Award for Paraguayan Literature ($3,000)

For a living author of a major work of Paraguayan literature:

Ezra E. Fitz
Amalia Gladhart
Mark Weiss

PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grants ($2,000-$4,000)

To promote world literature translated into English:

The PEN/Heim Translation Fund Advisory Board