Bellwether Prize

PEN / Bellwether Prize
for Socially Engaged Fiction
NicknameBellwether Prize
StatusActive
GenreLiterary award
(Award for unpublished fiction that addresses social justice issues)
Date2000 (2000)
FrequencyBi-annually
CountryUnited States
FounderBarbara Kingsolver
Most recent2023
Previous event2021
Next event2025[a]
Organised byPEN America
Prize moneyUS$25,000
Fabienne Josaphat

The Bellwether Prize, officially the PEN / Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction, formerly known as the Bellwether Prize for Fiction, is a biennial award given by PEN America and Barbara Kingsolver to a U.S. citizen for a previously unpublished work of fiction that address issues of social justice. The prize was established by Kingsolver and is funded by her.[1] Winning authors receive a US$25,000 award and a publishing contract, from which they receive royalties.[2]

Submissions are judged by a panel of authors whose work shows themes of social change. Authors who have served as judges include: Russell Banks, Martin Espada, Terry Karten, Maxine Hong Kingston, Ursula K. Le Guin, Barry Lopez, Toni Morrison, Ruth Ozeki, Grace Paley, and Anna Quindlen.

In May 2011, PEN America (formerly the PEN American Center) announced it would administer the prize, known as the PEN/Bellwether Prize.[3] The award is one of many PEN awards sponsored by International PEN affiliates in over 145 PEN centres around the world. PEN America awards were characterized in 2005 as among the "major" American literary prizes.[4]

Winners

Bellwether Prize winners[5]
Year Author Title Notes
2000 Donna Gershten Kissing the Virgin's Mouth [6]
2002 Gayle Brandeis The Book of Dead Birds [7]
2004 Marjorie Kowalski Cole Correcting the Landscape [8]
2006 Hillary Jordan Mudbound
2008 Heidi W. Durrow The Girl Who Fell from the Sky
2010 Naomi Benaron Running the Rift
2012 Susan Nussbaum Good Kings Bad Kings [9][10][11]
2014 Ron Childress And West Is West [12][13][14][15]
2016 Lisa Ko The Leavers [16][17][18]
2019 Katherine Seligman At the Edge of the Haight [19][1][20]
2021 Jamila Minnicks Moonrise Over New Jessup [21][22]
2023 Fabienne Josaphat Kingdom of No Tomorrow [23][24]
2025 Not awarded

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Although, announced in 2025 as deferred.

References

  1. ^ a b "A Celebration of the PEN/Bellwether Prize with Katherine Seligman and Barbara Kingsolver". The Center for Fiction. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  2. ^ "Bellwether Prize Information". Archived from the original on May 5, 2010. Retrieved February 16, 2007.
  3. ^ "American PEN Centre". Archived from the original on October 6, 2012.
  4. ^ Bendixen, Alfred (2005). "Literary Prizes and Awards". The Continuum Encyclopedia of American Literature. Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 689. Archived from the original on February 24, 2023. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  5. ^ "PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction Winners". PEN America. March 1, 2021. Archived from the original on August 6, 2022. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  6. ^ "Bellwether Prize Seeks House to Publish Next Winner". Publishers Weekly. April 2, 2001. Archived from the original on February 24, 2023. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  7. ^ "Drawing Breath: Essays on Writing, the Body, and Loss by Gayle Brandeis". Publishers Weekly. November 23, 2022. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  8. ^ "The City Beneath the Snow by Marjorie Kowalski Cole". Publishers Weekly. March 19, 2012. Archived from the original on February 24, 2023. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  9. ^ "Awards: PEN Literary". Shelf Awareness. August 30, 2012. Archived from the original on February 3, 2023. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  10. ^ "Awards: PEN/Bellwether Winner". Shelf Awareness. June 8, 2012. Archived from the original on October 2, 2017. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  11. ^ "2012 PEN Literary Awards Announced". Publishers Weekly. August 29, 2012. Archived from the original on February 24, 2023. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  12. ^ John Williams (July 30, 2014). "James Wolcott and Frank Bidart Among 2014 PEN American Winners". New York Times. Archived from the original on August 1, 2014. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  13. ^ "PEN Literary Shortlists; PEN/Bellwether Winner". Shelf Awareness. June 19, 2014. Archived from the original on January 30, 2023. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  14. ^ "Book Brahmin: Ron Childress". Shelf Awareness . October 23, 2015. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  15. ^ "Bidart, Wolcott Among 2014 PEN Winners". Publishers Weekly. July 30, 2014. Archived from the original on October 2, 2014. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  16. ^ Maggie Galehouse (March 1, 2016). "PEN Literary Award winners announced". Chron. Archived from the original on March 2, 2016. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
  17. ^ "Reading with... Lisa Ko". Shelf Awareness. May 19, 2017. Archived from the original on December 25, 2022. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  18. ^ "2016 PEN Literary Award Winners". PEN. March 1, 2016. Archived from the original on March 1, 2016. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
  19. ^ "PEN America Literary Awards". pen.org. Archived from the original on January 15, 2021. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  20. ^ Maher, John (February 27, 2019). "'Daring Works' Fêted at 2019 PEN America Literary Awards". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on September 24, 2022. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  21. ^ Saka, Rasheeda (March 2, 2021). "Announcing the winners of the PEN/Bellwether Prize and the PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize". Literary Hub. Archived from the original on January 3, 2023. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  22. ^ "Moonrise over New Jessup". Shelf Awareness. February 17, 2023. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  23. ^ Miller, Kerri; Gordon, Kelly (February 7, 2025). "Fabienne Josaphat's 'Kingdom of No Tomorrow' explores gender equality in the Black Panthers". MPR News. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  24. ^ "Kingdom of No Tomorrow: Fabienne Josaphat in conversation with Barbara Kingsolver". PEN America. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
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