Aspen Words Literary Prize
Annual English-language literary award for fiction with social impact
The Aspen Words Literary Prize, established in 2018, is an annual literary award presented by Aspen Words, a literary center in Aspen, Colorado. The prize is presented to an author for "an influential work of fiction that illuminates a vital contemporary issue and demonstrates the transformative power of literature on thought and culture.”[1] Winners receive a $35,000 prize.[2]
Recipients
Year | Author | Title | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | Mohsin Hamid | Exit West | Winner | [1][3] |
Lesley Nneka Arimah | What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky | Shortlist | [4] | |
Zinzi Clemmons | What We Lose | |||
Samrat Upadhyay | Mad Country | |||
Jesmyn Ward | Sing, Unburied, Sing | |||
Alain Mabanckou | Black Moses | Longlist | [5] | |
Weike Wang | Chemistry | |||
Roxane Gay | Difficult Women | |||
Rowan Hisayo Buchanan | Harmless Like You | |||
Shanthi Sekaran | Lucky Boy | |||
Vaddey Ratner | Music of the Ghosts | |||
Hala Alyan | Salt Houses | |||
Bandi | The Accusation | |||
Jean Hanff Korelitz | The Devil and Webster | |||
Megan Hunter | The End We Start From | |||
Curtis Dawkins | The Graybar Hotel | |||
Lisa Ko | The Leavers | |||
Jonathan Dee | The Locals | |||
Viet Thanh Nguyen | The Refugees | |||
Achy Obejas | The Tower of the Antilles | |||
2019 | Tayari Jones | An American Marriage | Winner | [1][6] |
Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah | Friday Black | Shortlist | [7] | |
David Chariandy | Brother | |||
Jennifer Clement | Gun Love | |||
Tommy Orange | There There | |||
Elaine Castillo | America Is Not The Heart | Longlist | [8] | |
Will Mackin | Bring Out the Dog | |||
Akwaeke Emezi | Freshwater | |||
Nafissa Thompson-Spires | Heads of the Colored People | |||
Neel Patel | If You See Me, Don't Say Hi | [9] | ||
Jamel Brinkley | Lucky Man | [8] | ||
Ling Ma | Severance | |||
Gaël Faye | Small Country | |||
Sharon Bala | The Boat People | |||
R.O. Kwon | The Incendiaries | |||
Brandon Hobson | Where the Dead Sit Talking | |||
2020 | Christy Lefteri | The Beekeeper of Aleppo | Winner | [1][10] |
Nicole Dennis-Benn | Patsy | Shortlist | [11] | |
Brian Allen Carr | Opioid, Indiana | |||
Valeria Luiselli | Lost Children Archive | |||
Bryan Washington | Lot | |||
Steph Cha | Your House Will Pay | Longlist | [12][13] | |
Angie Cruz | Dominicana | [12] | ||
Kali Fajardo-Anstine | Sabrina & Corina | [12][13] | ||
Laila Lalami | The Other Americans | |||
Beth Piatote | The Beadworkers | |||
Melissa Rivero | The Affairs of the Falcóns | [12] | ||
Maurice Carlos Ruffin | We Cast a Shadow | |||
Rion Amilcar Scott | The World Doesn't Require You | [12][13] | ||
Ocean Vuong | On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous | |||
Colson Whitehead | The Nickel Boys | |||
Jacqueline Woodson | Red at the Bone | |||
2021 | Louise Erdrich | The Night Watchman | Winner | [14][15] |
Susan Abulhawa | Against the Loveless World | Shortlist | [16][17] | |
Rumaan Alam | Leave the World Behind | |||
Danielle Evans | The Office of Historical Corrections | |||
Randall Kenan | If I Had Two Wings: Stories | |||
Brit Bennett | The Vanishing Half | Longlist | [18][19] | |
Diane Cook | The New Wilderness | [18] | ||
Juliana Delgado Lopera | Fiebre Tropical | [18][19] | ||
Akwaeke Emezi | The Death of Vivek Oji | [18] | ||
Yaa Gyasi | Transcendent Kingdom | [18][19] | ||
Lydia Millet | A Children's Bible: A Novel | |||
Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi | A Girl is a Body of Water | [18] | ||
Tola Rotimi Abraham | Black Sunday | [18][19] | ||
Brandon Taylor | Real Life | [18] | ||
Bryan Washington | Memorial | [18][19] | ||
2022 | Dawnie Walton | The Final Revival of Opal & Nev | Winner | [20] |
Hala Alyan | The Arsonists’ City | Shortlist | [1][21] | |
Myriam J. A. Chancy | What Storm, What Thunder | |||
Omar El Akkad | What Strange Paradise | |||
Kirstin Valdez Quade | The Five Wounds | |||
Eric Nguyen | Things We Lost To The Water | Longlist | [22][23] | |
Honorée Fanonne Jeffers | The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois | |||
Jakob Guanzon | Abundance | |||
Jason Mott | Hell of a Book | |||
Kaitlyn Greenidge | Libertie | |||
Karen Tucker | Bewilderness | |||
Linda Rui Feng | Swimming Back to Trout River | |||
Nawaaz Ahmed | Radiant Fugitives | |||
Peter Ho Davies | A Lie Someone Told You About Yourself | |||
Richard Powers | Bewilderment | |||
Tahmima Alam | The Startup Wife | |||
2023 | Jamil Jan Kochai | The Haunting of Hajji Hotak and Other Stories | Winner | [24] |
Angie Cruz | How Not To Drown in a Glass of Water | Finalist | [25] | |
Oscar Hokeah | Calling for a Blanket Dance | |||
Sarah Thankam Mathews | All This Could Be Different | |||
Manuel Muñoz | The Consequences | |||
Fatimah Asghar | When We Were Sisters | Longlist | [26][27] | |
NoViolet Bulawayo | Glory | |||
Jonathan Escoffery | If I Survive You | |||
Mohsin Hamid | The Last White Man | |||
Ladee Hubbard | The Last Suspicious Holdout | |||
Talia Laskshmi Kolluri | What We Fed to the Manticore | |||
Chinelo Okparanta | Harry Sylvester Bird | |||
Tara M. Stringfellow | Memphis | |||
Alejandro Varela | The People Who Report More Stress | |||
2024 | Isabella Hammad | Enter Ghost | Winner | [28] |
James McBride | The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store | Finalist | [29] | |
Jamel Brinkley | Witness | |||
Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah | Chain-Gang All-Stars | |||
Aaliyah Bilal | Temple Folk | |||
Stephen Buoro | The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa | Longlist | [30] | |
Sonora Jha | The Laughter | |||
Claire Jiménez | What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez | |||
R. F. Kuang | Yellowface | |||
Rebecca Makkai | I Have Some Questions for You | |||
Jennifer Maritza McCauley | When Trying To Return Home: Stories | |||
Alejandro Varela | The People Who Report More Stress: Stories | |||
Jesmyn Ward | Let Us Descend | |||
C Pam Zhang | Land of Milk and Honey |
References
- ^ a b c d e Schaub, Michael (2022-02-28). "Finalists for Aspen Words Literary Prize Revealed". Kirkus Reviews. Archived from the original on 2022-02-28. Retrieved 2022-03-01.
- ^ "About Aspen Words | Literary Center & Nonprofit Organization". Aspen Words. Archived from the original on 2022-03-01. Retrieved 2022-03-01.
- ^ Arias, Patricia de (2018-04-18). "Awards: Aspen Words Literary; Neukom Institute Literary Arts". Shelf Awareness. Archived from the original on 2022-03-02. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
- ^ Weisman, Jonathan (2018-03-06). "Awards: CWA Diamond Dagger; Aspen Words Shortlist". Shelf Awareness. Archived from the original on 2022-03-01. Retrieved 2022-03-01.
- ^ "2018 PRIZE". Aspen Words. Archived from the original on 2022-03-02. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
- ^ Kirby, Carolyn (2019-04-12). "Awards: Aspen Winner; Anisfield-Wolf Winners; Best Translated Book Longlists". Shelf Awareness. Archived from the original on 2022-03-02. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
- ^ Rankine, Claudia (2019-02-21). "Awards: L.A. Times Book; Nebula; Aspen Words Literary; Jane Grigson Trust Shortlists". Shelf Awareness. Archived from the original on 2022-03-02. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
- ^ a b "2019 PRIZE". Aspen Words. Archived from the original on 2022-03-02. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
- ^ Doll, Jen (2021-10-01). "Neel Patel's Homeward Bound Debut". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
- ^ Kamp, David (2020-04-17). "Awards: Aspen Words Winner; Reading the West Shortlists". Shelf Awareness. Archived from the original on 2022-02-28. Retrieved 2022-03-01.
- ^ Eliasberg, Jan (2020-02-20). "Awards: Reading the West; Aspen Words; Helen Bernstein". www.shelf-awareness.com. Archived from the original on 2022-03-01. Retrieved 2022-03-01.
- ^ a b c d e "2020 PRIZE". Aspen Words. Archived from the original on 2022-03-02. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
- ^ a b c Schaub, Michael. "Jacqueline Woodson, Colson Whitehead on Longlist for Aspen Words Literary Prize". Kirkus Reviews. Archived from the original on 2023-03-07. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
- ^ Schaub, Michael (2021-04-22). "Louise Erdrich Wins Aspen Words Literary Prize". Kirkus Reviews. Archived from the original on 2023-03-07. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
- ^ Becker, Barbara (2021-04-22). "Awards: Aspen Words, Colby Winners; Wolfson History Shortlist". Shelf Awareness. Archived from the original on 2022-03-02. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
- ^ Allende, Isabel (2021-02-18). "Awards: Aspen Words Finalists". Shelf Awareness. Archived from the original on 2022-03-01. Retrieved 2022-03-01.
- ^ Muchnick, Laurie (2021-02-17). "Shortlist for Aspen Words Literary Prize Revealed". Kirkus Reviews. Archived from the original on 2023-03-07. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "2021 PRIZE". Aspen Words. Archived from the original on 2022-03-02. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
- ^ a b c d e Schaub, Michael (2020-11-10). "Longlist for Aspen Words Literary Prize Revealed". Kirkus Reviews. Archived from the original on 2023-03-07. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
- ^ Schaub, Michael (2022-04-22). "Dawnie Walton Wins the Aspen Words Literary Prize". Kirkus Reviews. Archived from the original on 2023-03-07. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
- ^ Chadburn, Melissa (2022-02-28). "Awards: New-York Historical Society Zalaznick Winner; Aspen Words Shortlist". Shelf Awareness. Archived from the original on 2022-02-28. Retrieved 2022-03-01.
- ^ "2022 Aspen Words Literary Prize Longlist". Aspen Words. Archived from the original on 2022-03-01. Retrieved 2022-03-01.
- ^ Schaub, Michael (2021-11-10). "Aspen Words Literary Prize Longlist Revealed". Kirkus Reviews. Archived from the original on 2023-03-07. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
- ^ Manley, Janet (2023-04-20). "Jamil Jan Kochai's The Haunting of Hajji Hotak has won the 2023 Aspen Prize". Literary Hub. Archived from the original on 2023-12-25. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
- ^ Schaub, Michael (2023-03-06). "Finalists for Aspen Words Literary Prize Revealed". Kirkus Reviews. Archived from the original on 2023-03-06. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
- ^ "2023 Aspen Words Literary Prize Longlist". Aspen Words. Archived from the original on 2022-03-01. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
- ^ Schaub, Michael (2022-12-12). "Aspen Words Literary Prize Longlist Is Revealed". Kirkus Reviews. Archived from the original on 2023-03-07. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
- ^ Schaub, Michael (2024-04-26). "Winnner of the Aspen Words Literary Prize Revealed". Kirkus Reviews. Archived from the original on 2024-04-26. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
- ^ Schaub, Michael (2024-03-14). "Aspen Words Literary Prize 2024 Finalists Revealed". Kirkus Reviews. Archived from the original on 2024-03-15. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
- ^ Anderson, Porter (2023-11-08). "The Aspen Words Literary Prize Names Its 2024 Longlist". Publishing Perspectives. Archived from the original on 2023-11-29. Retrieved 2024-04-28.