The 2023 PEN/Faulkner finalists had been introduced Tuesday. The award has been granted for over 40 years to American authors, and is judged by writers who see a peer’s work as being the “first among equals.” The creator who wins first place will win $15,000, and every finalist $5,000.
This yr’s judges had been R.O. Kwon, Tiphanie Yanique, and Christopher Bollen, who narrowed down a choice of 512 novels and brief story collections to 10, and eventually the present 5.
The three authors had this to say about their alternatives: “Monstrosity, resilience, terror, pleasure, joy, peace, and wisdom. These aspects of human experience come alive in the novels and short-story collections on our shortlist. They are written with incredible emotional complexity and pressing historical urgency, and each offers a path forward for fiction in this country and beyond. Our selections display brilliant technical skill in charting the complexities of mind, body and society. And they deftly bring to life their characters’ beating hearts. The books are primers on how good writing is made.”
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