The William Saroyan International Prize for Writing is a biennial literary award for fiction and nonfiction in the spirit of

William Saroyan William Saroyan (; August 31, 1908 – May 18, 1981) was an Armenian-American novelist, playwright, and short story writer. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1940, and in 1943 won the Academy Award for Best Story for the film ''T ...

by emerging writers. It was established by

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...

Libraries and the

Foundation to "encourage new or emerging writers rather than recognize established literary figures;" the prize being $12,500. The Saroyan Prize was first awarded in 2003 for "newly published works of fiction including novels, short stories, dramas or memoirs." Starting with the second round of awards in 2005, separate awards have been given for fiction and nonfiction. With the exception of a three year gap between the second and third rounds of awards, the prize has been awarded every two years since it was established.

Winners and finalists

*2003 : **'' Everything is Illuminated'' by

Jonathan Safran Foer Jonathan Safran Foer (; born February 21, 1977) is an American novelist. He is known for his novels '' Everything Is Illuminated'' (2002), '' Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close'' (2005), '' Here I Am'' (2016), and for his non-fiction works ''Eati ...

(winner) **''

The Impressionist ''The Impressionist'' is Hari Kunzru's debut novel, first published in 2002. Kunzru received the Betty Trask Award and the Somerset Maugham Award for the book's publication. Plot The novel concerns Pran Nath (known throughout the book by several ...

'' by

Hari Kunzru Hari Mohan Nath Kunzru (born 1969) is a British novelist and journalist. He is the author of the novels ''The Impressionist'', ''Transmission'', ''My Revolutions'', '' Gods Without Men'', ''White Tears''David Robinson"Interview: Hari Kunzru, au ...

**''Nocturne'' by

Adam Rapp Adam Rapp (born June 15, 1968) is an American novelist, playwright, screenwriter, musician and film director. His play ''Red Light Winter'' was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2006. Early life Rapp was born in Chicago to Mary Lee (née Baird; die ...

*2005 Fiction: **''The Laments'' by George Hagen (winner) **''Bloodvine'' by Aris Janigian **''

The Calligrapher The Calligrapher is the debut novel of Edward Docx, published in 2003. It was selected by both '' San Francisco Chronicle'' and ''San Jose Mercury'' as a 'Best Book of the Year'. It was also a finalist for the William Saroyan International Prize ...

'' by

Edward Docx Edward Docx (born 1972) is a British writer. His first novel, '' The Calligrapher'', was published in 2003. He is an associate editor of '' New Statesman Magazine''. Biography Docx was born in Newcastle. He was educated at St Bede's College ...

**''How to Breathe Underwater'' by Julie Orringer *2005 Non-fiction: **''The King of California'' by Mark Arax and Rick Wartzman (winner) **''Chasing the Sea'' by

Tom Bissell Tom Bissell (born January 9, 1974) is an American journalist, critic, and fiction writer. In 2021, he co-developed the television series '' The Mosquito Coast'' based on the novel of the same name. He is also known for his work as a writer of vid ...

**''The Children's Blizzard'' by David Laskin *2008 Fiction: **''

The History of Love ''The History of Love: A Novel'' is the 2005 novel by the American writer Nicole Krauss.The book was a 2006 finalist for the Orange Prize for Fiction and won the 2008 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing for fiction. An excerpt fro ...

'' by Nicole Krauss (winner) **'' The Understory'' by

Pamela Erens Pamela Erens is an American writer who appeared on a list compiled by the '' Reader's Digest'' of "23 Contemporary Writers You Should Have Read by Now". She has written three critically acclaimed novels for adults, a highly praised novel for middl ...

**''Dead Boys'' by Richard Lange *2008 Non-fiction: **''Dandelion Through the Crack'' by

Kiyo Sato (or just Kiyo) in Japanese folklore is a character in the story of Anchin and Kiyohime. In this story, she fell in love with a Buddhist monk named Anchin, but after her interest in the monk was rejected, she chased after him and transformed in ...

(winner) **''Ticket to Exile: A Memoir'' by

Adam David Miller Adam David Miller (October 8, 1922 – November 4, 2020) was an American poet, writer, publisher, and radio programmer and producer. Born in Saint George, South Carolina, Miller published one of the first collections of modern African-American po ...

**''Return of the Condor'' by John Moir *2010 Fiction: **''Atmospheric Disturbances'' by

Rivka Galchen Rivka Galchen (born April 19, 1976) is a Canadian-American writer. Her first novel, ''Atmospheric Disturbances'', was published in 2008 and was awarded the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing. She is the author of five books and a con ...

(winner) **''apologize, apologize!'' by Elizabeth Kelly **''Concord, Virginia'' by

Peter Neofotis Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

*2010 Non-fiction: **''The King of Vodka'' by

Linda Himelstein Linda may refer to: As a name * Linda (given name), a female given name (including a list of people and fictional characters so named) * Linda (singer) (born 1977), stage name of Svetlana Geiman, a Russian singer * Anita Linda (born Alice Lake i ...

(winner) **''Trauma Farm'' by

Brian Brett Brian Brett (born 28 April 1950) is a Canadian poet, journalist, editor and novelist.Brian Brett

**''Aesop's Mirror'' by Maryalice Huggins *2012 Fiction **'' Orientation and Other Stories'' by

Daniel Orozco Daniel Orozco is an American writer of fiction known primarily for his short stories. His works have appeared in anthologies such as ''The Best American Short Stories'' and ''The Pushcart Prize Anthology'' and magazines such as ''Harper's'' and ...

(winner) **'' Leaving the Atocha Station'' by

Ben Lerner Benjamin S. Lerner (born February 4, 1979) is an American poet, novelist, essayist, and critic. He has been a Fulbright Scholar, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, a finalist for the National Book Award, a finalist for the National Bo ...

**''East of the West: A Country in Stories'' by Miroslav Penkov *2012 Non-fiction ** '' The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating'' by Elisabeth Tova Bailey (winner) ** ''Solacers'' by Arion Golmakani ** '' Pulphead'' by

John Jeremiah Sullivan John Jeremiah Sullivan (born 1974) is an American writer, musician, teacher, and editor. He is a contributing writer for ''The New York Times Magazine'', a contributing editor of ''Harper's Magazine'', and the southern editor of ''The Paris Revi ...

*2014 Fiction"William Saroyan International Prize for Writing"
accessed 12 January 2015. ** ''Long Division'' by Kiese Laymon (winner) ** ''The Facades'' by Eric Lundgren ** ''A Marker to Measure Drift'' by Alexander Maksik *2014 Non-fiction ** ''The Riddle of the Labyrinth'' by

Margalit Fox Margalit Fox (born 1961) is an American writer. She began her career in publishing in the 1980s, before switching to journalism in the 1990s. She joined the obituary department of '' The New York Times'' in 2004, and authored over 1,400 obituari ...

(winner) ** ''The Boys in the Boat'' by

Daniel James Brown Daniel James Brown (born 1951) is an American author of narrative nonfiction books. Biography Brown was born in Berkeley, California. He grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. He attended Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, California, and ea ...

*2016 FictionKarampelas, Gabrielle. "Lori Jakiela and T. Geronimo Johnson win Stanford’s 2016 Saroyan Prize for Writing." Stanford News, August 29, 2016
accessed 5 November 2016. ** ''Welcome to Braggsville'' by T. Geronimo Johnson (winner) ** ''Now We Will Be Happy'' by Amina Gautier ** ''Counternarratives'' by John Keene *2016 Non-fiction ** ''Belief is its Own Kind of Truth, Maybe'' by Lori Jakiela (winner) ** ''Russian Tattoo'' by

Elena Gorokhova Elena Konstantinovna Gorokhova (russian: link=no, Еле́на Константи́новна Горо́хова; 19 February 1933 – 15 January 2014) was a Russian painter, living and working in Saint Petersburg, regarded as one of representat ...

** ''Nagasaki: Life After Nuclear War'' by Susan Southard *2018 FictionKarampelas, Gabrielle. "In the Distance" and "On Trails" win the 2018 Stanford Libraries’ William Saroyan International Prize for Writing." Stanford News, July 30, 2018
accessed 25 July 2019. ** '' In the Distance'' by Hernan Diaz (winner) ** ''The Traders'' by Scott Shibuya Brown ** '' Lucky Boy'' by Shanthi Sekaran *2018 Non-fiction ** ''On Trails: an Exploration'' by Robert Moor (winner) ** ''Riverine: a Memoir from Anywhere but Here'' by Angela Palm ** ''Shakespeare in Swahililand: Adventures with the Ever-living Poet'' by

Edward Wilson-Lee Edward Wilson-Lee is an English literature academic at Sidney Sussex College, University of Cambridge, and a specialist in the literature and the history of the book in the early modern period. Early life Wilson-Lee is the son of wildlife conse ...

''Adventures with the Ever-living Poet'' (description)
Stanford University Libraries *2020 Fiction"Winners and finalists: 2020 winners."
accessed 7 April 2022. ** ''Friday Black'' by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah (winner) ** ''The Hundred Wells of Salaga'' by Ayesha Harruna Attah ** ''Some Trick: Thirteen Stories'' by Helen DeWitt *2020 Non-fiction ** ''Homesick: a Memoir'' by Jennifer Croft (winner) ** ''How to Write an Autobiographical Novel: Essays'' by Alexander Chee ** ''In the Dream House: a Memoir'' by Carmen Maria Machado

References

{{reflist

External links

Prize website
American literary awards