Center for Fiction First Novel Prize

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The Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize is an annual award presented by The Center for Fiction, a non-profit organization in New York City, for the best debut novel. From 2006 to 2011, it was called the John Sargent, Sr. First Novel Prize in honor of John Turner Sargent, Sr., and, from 2011 to 2014, the Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize, named after Center for Fiction board member Nancy Dunnan and her journalist father Ray W. Flaherty. [1]

Contents

Publishers nominate English-language works by first-time United States novelists. [2] [3] There is a two-tiered selection process for the prize. First, the nominees are read by a network of booklovers (referred to as Common Readers), including librarians, writers, staff, members, and friends of The Center for Fiction, giving rise to a long list of recommended books. Next, the Common Readers' long list is forwarded to a committee of distinguished American writers, who select a short list, typically comprising five to seven titles, which is publicly announced in the late summer. All finalists are invited to read from their works at a First Novel Fête, and the winning novel is then announced at an awards event—both events usually occurring in December. The winning novelist receives a cash prize of $10,000; each finalist receives $1,000. [4]

Recipients

First Novel Prize winners and nominees
YearAuthorTitleResultRef.
2006 Marisha Pessl Special Topics in Calamity Physics Winner [5] [6]
Marie Arana CellophaneShortlist [5]
Nell Freudenberger The Dissident
Peter Orner The Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo
Patrick Ryan Send Me
2007 Junot Díaz The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao Winner [7] [6]
Daniel Alarcón Lost City Radio Shortlist [7] [8]
Mischa Berlinski Fieldwork
Jon Clinch Finn
Nathan Englander The Ministry of Special Cases
Austin Grossman Soon I Will Be Invincible
Ehud Havazelet Bearing the Body
2008 Hannah Tinti The Good Thief Winner [9] [6]
Stefan Merrill Block The Story of ForgettingShortlist [9]
Rivka Galchen Atmospheric Disturbances
Beth Helms Dervishes
Peter Manseau Songs for the Butcher's Daughter
Ed Park Personal Days
David Wroblewski The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
2009 John Pipkin WoodsburnerWinner [10]
Paul Harding Tinkers Shortlist [10]
Yiyun Li The Vagrants
Philipp Meyer American Rust
Patrick Somerville The Cradle
2010 Karl Marlantes Matterhorn Winner [11]
Michelle Hoover The QuickeningShortlist [11]
Jessica Francis Kane The Report
Maaza Mengiste Beneath the Lion's Gaze
Julie Orringer The Invisible Bridge
Drew Perry This Is Just Exactly Like You
Adam Ross Mr. Peanut
2011 Bonnie Nadzam Lamb Winner [12] [13]
Sarah Braunstein The Sweet Relief of Missing ChildrenShortlist [12] [14]
Carolyn Cooke Daughters of the Revolution
Ida Hattemer-Higgins The History of History
Ismet Prcic Shards
David Vann Caribou Island
Alexi Zentner Touch
2012 Ben Fountain Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk Winner [15] [16]
Patrick Flanery AbsolutionShortlist [15]
Tupelo Hassman Girlchild
Peter Heller The Dog Stars
Eowyn Ivey The Snow Child
Kevin Powers The Yellow Birds
Maggie Shipstead Seating Arrangements
G. Willow Wilson Alif the Unseen
2013 Margaret Wrinkle WashWinner [17] [18]
Lea Carpenter Eleven Days Shortlist [17] [19]
Marjorie Celona Y
Christopher Hacker The Morels
Mitchell S. Jackson The Residue Years
Anthony Marra A Constellation of Vital Phenomena
Kirstin Scott Motherlunge
Taiye Selasi Ghana Must Go
2014 Tiphanie Yanique Land of Love and DrowningWinner [20] [21]
Rene Denfeld The EnchantedShortlist [22] [20]
Smith Henderson Fourth of July Creek
Vanessa Manko The Invention of Exile
Matthew Thomas We Are Not Ourselves
Ted Thompson The Land of Steady Habits
Josh Weil The Great Glass Sea
2015 Viet Thanh Nguyen The Sympathizer Winner [23] [24] [25]
Angela Flournoy The Turner House Shortlist [23] [26]
Tanwi Nandini Islam Bright Lines
Sophie McManus The Unfortunates
Ben Metcalf Against the Country
Chigozie Obioma The Fishermen
Lori Ostlund After the Parade
2016 Kia Corthron The Castle Cross the Magnet Carter Winner [27] [28]
Emma Cline The Girls Shortlist [27] [29]
Nicole Dennis-Benn Here Comes the Sun
Kaitlyn Greenidge We Love You, Charlie Freeman
Garth Greenwell What Belongs to You
Yaa Gyasi Homegoing
Krys Lee How I Became a North Korean
2017 Julie Lekstrom Himes Mikhail and MargaritaWinner [30] [31]
Bethany Ball What to Do About the SolomonsShortlist [30] [32]
Jaroslav Kalfař Spaceman of Bohemia
Annabelle Kim Tiger Pelt
Simeon Marsalis As Lie Is to Grin
Susan Rivers The Second Mrs. Hockaday
Kaitlin Solimine Empire of Glass
2018 Tommy Orange There There Winner [33] [34] [35] [36]
Jen Beagin Pretend I'm Dead Shortlist [33] [37]
Akwaeke Emezi Freshwater
Lisa Halliday Asymmetry
Tadzio Koelb Trenton Makes
Jordy Rosenberg Confessions of the Fox
Nafkote Tamirat The Parking Lot Attendant
2019 De'Shawn Charles Winslow In West MillsWinner [38] [39] [35]
Chia-Chia Lin The UnpassingShortlist [40] [41] [42]
Julia Phillips Disappearing Earth
Pitchaya Sudbanthad Bangkok Wakes to Rain
Ocean Vuong On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
Joe Wilkins Fall Back Down When I Die
Lauren Wilkinson American Spy
2020 Raven Leilani Luster Winner [43] [44] [35]
Amina Cain Indelicacy Shortlist [45] [43] [46] [47]
Maisy Card These Ghosts Are Family
Hilary Leichter Temporary
Corey Sobel The Redshirt
Douglas Stuart Shuggie Bain
C Pam Zhang How Much of These Hills Is Gold
2021 Kirstin Valdez Quade The Five Wounds Winner [48] [49]
Priyanka Champaneri The City of Good DeathShortlist [48] [50]
Linda Rui Feng Swimming Back to Trout River
Honorée Fanonne Jeffers The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois
Violet Kupersmith Build Your House Around My Body
Patricia Lockwood No One Is Talking About This
Jackie Polzin Brood
2022 Noor Naga If an Egyptian Cannot Speak EnglishWinner [51] [52] [53]
Daphne Palasi Andreades Brown GirlsShortlist [54] [55] [56]
Jessamine Chan The School for Good Mothers
Isabel Kaplan NSFW
Alyssa Songsiridej Little Rabbit
Mecca Jamilah Sullivan Big Girl
Vauhini Vara The Immortal King Rao
2023 Tyriek White We Are a HauntingWinner [57]
Elizabeth Acevedo Family Lore Shortlist [58]
Christine Byl Lookout
Eskor David Johnson Pay as You Go
Jamila Minnicks Moonrise Over New Jessup
Tracey Rose Peyton Night Wherever We Go
Esther Yi Y/N

See also

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References

  1. ↑ The First Novel Prize Archived 2015-05-30 at the Wayback Machine The Center for Fiction website, The Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize, accessed 2015/06/03.
  2. ↑ Archived 2012-02-02 at the Wayback Machine Poets & Writers Magazine, Grants and Awards, accessed 2015/06/03.
  3. ↑ Archived 2017-11-09 at the Wayback Machine Lizzie Simon, "Agent Wins Literary Prize," Wall Street Journal, Dec. 8, 2010, accessed 2015/06/03
  4. ↑ The Center for Fiction website, Flaherty-Dunnam Submission Process, accessed 2014/11/27.
  5. 1 2 "2006 First Novel Prize". The Center for Fiction. Archived from the original on August 11, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 "ABA and the Center for Fiction Announce Flaherty-Dunnan Partnership". Publishers Weekly . 2012-01-31. Archived from the original on 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  7. 1 2 "2007 First Novel Prize". The Center for Fiction. Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Awards: Sargent First Novel Prize; Medals of Honor". Shelf Awareness . October 31, 2007. Archived from the original on 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  9. 1 2 "2008 First Novel Prize". The Center for Fiction. Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  10. 1 2 "2009 First Novel Prize". The Center for Fiction. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  11. 1 2 "2010 First Novel Prize". The Center for Fiction. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  12. 1 2 "2011 First Novel Prize". The Center for Fiction. Archived from the original on September 27, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  13. ↑ "Awards: Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel; Bad Sex in Fiction". Shelf Awareness . December 8, 2011. Archived from the original on 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  14. ↑ "Awards: Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize Shortlist". Shelf Awareness . August 24, 2011. Archived from the original on 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  15. 1 2 "2012 First Novel Prize". The Center for Fiction. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  16. ↑ "Awards: Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Winner". Shelf Awareness . December 13, 2012. Archived from the original on 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  17. 1 2 "2013 First Novel Prize". The Center for Fiction. Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  18. ↑ "Awards: Center for Fiction Winners". Shelf Awareness . December 13, 2013. Archived from the original on 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  19. ↑ "Awards: Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize Short List". Shelf Awareness . September 5, 2013. Archived from the original on 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  20. 1 2 "2014 First Novel Prize". The Center for Fiction. Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  21. ↑ "Awards: Flaherty/Dunnan; Slate/Whiting Best Second Novels". Shelf Awareness . December 10, 2014. Archived from the original on 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  22. ↑ "Awards: Flaherty-Dunnan; Ngaio Marsh; Lane Anderson". Shelf Awareness . September 4, 2014. Archived from the original on 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  23. 1 2 "2015 First Novel Prize". The Center for Fiction. Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  24. ↑ "Awards: Center for Fiction Debut; Grammy Nominations". Shelf Awareness . December 10, 2015. Archived from the original on 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  25. ↑ "Viet Thanh Nguyen Wins Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize". Publishers Weekly . December 9, 2015. Archived from the original on December 13, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  26. ↑ "Awards: Center for Fiction First Novel Shortlist". Shelf Awareness . August 19, 2015. Archived from the original on 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  27. 1 2 "2016 First Novel Prize". The Center for Fiction. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  28. ↑ "Awards: Grammy Nominations; Center for Fiction First Novel; Canadian Nonfiction". Shelf Awareness . December 7, 2016. Archived from the original on 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
  29. ↑ "Awards: First Novel; Toronto Book". Shelf Awareness . September 1, 2016. Archived from the original on 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  30. 1 2 "2017 First Novel Prize". The Center for Fiction. Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  31. ↑ "Awards: Center for Fiction First Novel". Shelf Awareness . December 7, 2017. Archived from the original on 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  32. ↑ "Awards: Center for Fiction First Novel; SCBWI Book Launch". Shelf Awareness . August 30, 2017. Archived from the original on 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  33. 1 2 "2018 First Novel Prize". The Center for Fiction. Archived from the original on November 27, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  34. ↑ "Awards: Center for Fiction First Novel; Geoffrey Faber Memorial". Shelf Awareness . December 13, 2018. Archived from the original on 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  35. 1 2 3 Towley, Tracy Shapley (2022-07-28). "The Center for Fiction 2022 First Novel Prize Longlist Announced". BOOK RIOT. Archived from the original on 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  36. ↑ "Tommy Orange Wins Center for Fiction First Novel Prize". Publishers Weekly . 2018-12-12. Archived from the original on 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  37. ↑ "Awards: Ottaway; Center for Fiction First Novel; National Translation". Shelf Awareness . September 6, 2018. Archived from the original on 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
  38. ↑ "2019 First Novel Prize". The Center for Fiction. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  39. ↑ "Awards: Center for Fiction; Edward Stanford Travel Writing". Shelf Awareness . December 12, 2019. Archived from the original on 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  40. ↑ "7 Authors Nominated for First Novel Prize". Kirkus Reviews . Archived from the original on December 22, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  41. ↑ "Awards: Center for Fiction First Novel". Shelf Awareness . September 27, 2019. Archived from the original on 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  42. ↑ "Here are the seven shortlisted debut novels for the 2019 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize". Literary Hub . 2019-09-26. Archived from the original on 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  43. 1 2 "2020 First Novel Prize: The Short List". The Center for Fiction. Archived from the original on December 4, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  44. ↑ "Awards: Center for Fiction Winners". Shelf Awareness . December 7, 2020. Archived from the original on 2023-02-20. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  45. ↑ "Awards: Center for Fiction Shortlist". Shelf Awareness . October 8, 2020. Archived from the original on 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  46. ↑ Saka, Rasheeda (2020-10-01). "Here's the shortlist for the Center for Fiction's 2020 First Novel Prize". Literary Hub . Archived from the original on 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  47. ↑ "2020 First Novel Prize Shortlist". Locus Online . 2020-10-01. Archived from the original on 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  48. 1 2 "Kirstin Valdez Quade Wins 2021 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize". Publishers Weekly . December 8, 2021. Archived from the original on December 20, 2021. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  49. ↑ "Awards: David Cohen Literature Prize, Center for Fiction Winners". Shelf Awareness . December 14, 2021. Archived from the original on 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  50. ↑ Koirala, Snigdha (2021-09-28). "Here is the shortlist for the 2021 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize". Literary Hub . Archived from the original on 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  51. ↑ Schaub, Michael (2022-12-08). "Noor Naga Wins First Novel Prize". Kirkus Reviews . Archived from the original on 2022-12-07. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
  52. ↑ "Noor Naga Wins The Center for Fiction 2022 First Novel Prize for If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English". The Center for Fiction. Archived from the original on 2022-12-07. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
  53. ↑ "Awards: Waterstones Book of the Year; Center for Fiction First Novel Winner". Shelf Awareness . December 7, 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  54. ↑ "2022 First Novel Prize: The Shortlist". The Center for Fiction. Archived from the original on 2022-12-06. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
  55. ↑ "Awards: Prix Voltaire Winner; Center for Fiction First Novel Shortlist". Shelf Awareness . September 30, 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
  56. ↑ Segal, Corinne (2022-09-29). "Here's the shortlist for the Center for Fiction's 2022 First Novel Prize". Literary Hub . Archived from the original on 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  57. ↑ Schaub, Michael (2023-12-08). "Tyriek White Wins First Novel Prize". Kirkus Reviews . Retrieved 2023-12-09.
  58. ↑ Schaub, Michael (2023-09-27). "Finalists for First Novel Prize Are Revealed". Kirkus Reviews . Retrieved 2023-09-30.
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