The PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction is awarded annually by the

PEN/Faulkner Foundation PEN/Faulkner Foundation (est. 1980) is an independent charitable arts foundation which supports the art of writing and encourages readers of all ages.Folger Shakespeare Library The Folger Shakespeare Library is an independent research library on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., United States. It has the world's largest collection of the printed works of William Shakespeare, and is a primary repository for rare materi ...

in Washington, D.C. The organization claims it to be "the largest peer-juried award in the country." The award was first given in 1981. The PEN/Faulkner Foundation is an outgrowth of

William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer known for his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, based on Lafayette County, Mississippi, where Faulkner spent most o ...

's use of his 1949

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

winnings to create the

William Faulkner Foundation The William Faulkner Foundation (1960-1970) was a charitable organization founded by the novelist William Faulkner in 1960 to support various charitable causes, all educational or literary in nature. The foundation The foundation programs include ...

; among the charitable goals of the foundation was "to establish a fund to support and encourage new fiction writers." The foundation's first award for a "notable first novel," called the

William Faulkner Foundation Award The William Faulkner Foundation (1960-1970) was a charitable organization founded by the novelist William Faulkner in 1960 to support various charitable causes, all educational or literary in nature. The foundation The foundation programs includ ...

, was granted to John Knowles's '' A Separate Peace'' in 1961. The foundation was dissolved after 1970.

Mary Lee Settle Mary Lee Settle (July 29, 1918 – September 27, 2005) was an American writer. She won the 1978 National Book Award for her novel ''Blood Tie''.''Blood_Tie''(1977)._This_novel,_which_received_the_National_Book_Award_in_1978,_deals_with_American ...

was one of the founders of the PEN/Faulkner award following the controversy at the 1979

National Book Award The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...

, when PEN voted for a boycott on the grounds that the award had become too commercial. The award is affiliated with the writers' organization

International PEN PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association has autonomous Internatio ...

. The award is one of many PEN awards sponsored by

PEN International PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association has autonomous Internatio ...

affiliates in over 145 PEN centres around the world.

PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

References

External links

PEN/Faulkner Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:PEN Faulkner Award for Fiction William Faulkner PEN/Faulkner Foundation awards American fiction awards Awards established in 1981 1981 establishments in the United States Folger Shakespeare Library