PEN/Open Book
PEN/Open Book (known as the Beyond Margins Award through 2009) is a program intended to foster racial and ethnic diversity within the literary and publishing communities, and works to establish access for diverse literary groups to the publishing industry.[1] Created in 1991 by the PEN American Center (today PEN America), the PEN/Open Book program ensures custodians of language and literature are representative of the American people.
The Committee discusses mutual concerns and strategies for advancing writing and professional activities, and coordinates Open Book events. While multiple awards were presented in previous years, the PEN Open Book Award now presents one award every year to books published in the United States (but without citizenship or residency requirements) by "authors of color who have not received wide media coverage".
The award is one of many PEN awards sponsored by International PEN affiliates in over 145 PEN centers around the world. The PEN American Center awards have been characterized as being among the "major" American literary prizes.[2]
List of winners and runners-up
Blue Ribbon () = winner
- Nafissa Thompson-Spires, Heads of the Colored People
- Shauna Barbosa, Cape Verdean Blues
- Tyrese Coleman, How to Sit: A Memoir in Stories and Essays
- Ángel García, Teeth Never Sleep
- Jenny Xie, Eye Level
- Alexis Okeowo, A Moonless, Starless Sky: Ordinary Women and Men Fighting Extremism in Africa
- Jessica B. Harris, My Soul Looks Back: A Memoir
- Kei Miller, Augustown
- Erika L. Sánchez, Lessons on Expulsion: Poems
- Nicole Sealey, Ordinary Beast: Poems
- 2017[8]
- Helen Oyeyemi, What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours
- Petina Gappah, The Book of Memory
- Jamaal May, The Big Book of Exit Strategies
- Solmaz Sharif, Look
- Monica Youn, Blackacre
- 2016[9]
- Rick Barot, Chord
- Reginald Dwayne Betts, Bastards of the Reagan Era
- Vievee Francis, Forest Primeval: Poems
- Marie Mutsuki Mockett, Where the Dead Pause, and the Japanese Say Goodbye: A Journey
- Lauret Savoy, Trace: Memory, History, Race, and the American Landscape
- 2015[10]
- Claudia Rankine, Citizen: An American Lyric
- Rabih Alameddine, An Unnecessary Woman
- Teju Cole, Every Day Is for the Thief
- Roxane Gay, An Untamed State
- Samrat Upadhyay, The City Son
- Ruth Ellen Kocher, domina Un/blued
- Nina McConigley, Cowboys and East Indians
- Kwame Dawes, Duppy Conqueror
- Jennifer Foerster, Leaving Tulsa
- Taiye Selasi, Ghana Must Go
- Gina Apostol, Gun Dealers' Daughter
- Kevin Young, The Grey Album
- Natalie Diaz, When My Brother Was an Aztec
- Francine J. Harris, Allegiance
- Brenda Shaughnessy, Our Andromeda
- 2012[15]
- Siddhartha Deb, The Beautiful and the Damned: A Portrait of the New India
- Quan Barry, Water Puppets
- Helon Habila, Oil on Water
- 2011
- Manu Joseph, Serious Men
- John Murillo, Up Jump the Boogie
2010 and earlier had no runner-up, all considered winners
- 2010
- Sherwin Bitsui: Flood Song
- Robin D.G. Kelley: Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original
- Canyon Sam: Sky Train: Tibetan Women on the Edge of History
- 2009
- Uwem Akpan: Say You're One of Them
- Juan Felipe Herrera: Half of the World in Light: New and Selected Poems
- Lily Hoang: Changing
- 2008
- Chris Abani: Song for Night
- Amiri Baraka: Tales of the Out and the Gone
- Frances Hwang: Transparency
- Naeem Murr: The Perfect Man
- Joseph M. Marshall III: The Day the World Ended at Little Big Horn
- 2007
- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Half of a Yellow Sun
- Ernest Hardy: Blood Beats, Vol. 1
- Harryette Mullen: Recyclopedia
- Alberto Ríos: Theater of Night
- 2006
- Richard Blanco: Directions to the Beach of the Dead
- Andrew Lam: Perfume Dreams: Reflections on the Vietnamese Diaspora
- Ed Bok Lee: Real Karaoke People
- Caryl Phillips: Dancing in the Dark
- Jennifer Tseng: The Man With My Face
- 2005
- Faith Adiele: Meeting Faith: The Forest Journals of a Black Buddhist Nun
- Raquel Cepeda (editor): And It Don’t Stop: The Best American Hip-Hop Journalism of the Last 25 Years
- Lan Samantha Chang: Inheritance
- Lolita Hernandez: Autopsy of an Engine, and Other Stories from the Cadillac Plant
- Ishle Yi Park: The Temperature of This Water
- 2004
- Laila Halaby: West of the Jordan: A Novel
- Suki Kim: The Interpreter
- Nasdijj: The Boy and the Dog Are Sleeping
- Willie Perdomo: Smoking Lovely
- April Reynolds: Knee-Deep in Wonder: A Novel
- 2002
- Meena Alexander: Illiterate Heart
- Luis Francia: Eye of the Fish
- Joy Harjo: A Map to the Next World: Poetry and Tales
- Victor LaValle: Slapboxing with Jesus: Stories
- Nelly Rosario: Song of the Water Saints
- Earlier winners
- Giannina Braschi: Yo-Yo Boing!
- Timothy Liu
- Bino Realuyo
- April Robinson
References
- "PEN Beyond Margins". National Book Critics Circle. November 19, 2009. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
- Alfred Bendixen (2005). "Literary Prizes and Awards". The Continuum Encyclopedia of American Literature. Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 689.
- "Announcing the 2019 PEN America Literary Awards Finalists". PEN America. 2019-01-15. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
- "PEN America Literary Awards 2019 winners announced". Books+Publishing. February 28, 2019. Retrieved 2019-02-27.
- John Maher (February 21, 2018). "Long Soldier, Zhang, Le Guin Win At 2018 PEN Literary Awards". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
- "The 2018 PEN America Literary Awards Winners". PEN America. February 20, 2018. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
- Porter Anderson (January 31, 2018). "Industry Notes: PEN America's Finalists". Publishing Perspectives. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
- "2017 PEN Open Book Award". PEN. February 22, 2017. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
- "2016 PEN Open Book Award". PEN. April 13, 2016. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
- "2015 PEN Literary Award Winners". PEN. May 8, 2015. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
- Ron Charles (July 30, 2014). "Winners of the 2014 PEN Literary Awards". Washington Post. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
- "2014 PEN Open Book Award". pen.org. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
- Carolyn Kellogg (August 14, 2013). "Jacket Copy: PEN announces winners of its 2013 awards". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
- "2013 PEN Open Book Award". pen.org. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
- "2012 PEN Open Book Award". pen.org. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
External links
- PEN Open Book Award Official site