PEN American Center, the largest branch of the world’s leading literary and human rights organization, announced today the winners of the 2014 PEN Literary Awards. This year’s recipients include, among others, acclaimed poet Frank Bidart for his body of work, Tony Award-winning playwright David Rabe for his contribution to American drama, and journalist and cultural critic James Wolcott for his collection of essays. The awards also honor new literary voices, including Nina McConigley for her debut short story collection and Laura Marks, who will receive the inaugural award honoring an emerging dramatist. The Literary Awards Ceremony will be held on Monday, September 29, 2014, at The New School’s Auditorium at 66 West 12th Street in New York City.

For the first time this year, the winner for the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Fiction ($25,000), chosen by judges Charles Bock, Jonathan Dee, Fiona Maazel, and Karen Shepard, will be announced live at the Awards Ceremony in September. Finalists for the award include Anthony Marra for A Constellation of Vital Phenomena (Hogarth), Saïd Sayrafiezadeh for Brief Encounters with the Enemy (The Dial Press), Ian Stansel for Everybody’s Irish (FiveChapters Books), Shawn Vestal for Godforsaken Idaho (Little A/New Harvest), and Hanya Yanagihara for The People in the Trees (Doubleday).

PEN will announce the winner of the PEN/Saul Bellow Award for Achievement in American Fiction ($25,000), chosen by judges E.L. Doctorow, Edwidge Danticat, and Zadie Smith, in early September.

For over 50 years, the PEN Literary Awards have honored and introduced some of the most outstanding voices in literature across such diverse genres as fiction, poetry, biography, children’s literature, science writing, translation, and drama.This year, with the help of its partners, supporters, and judges, PEN will confer 18 distinct awards, fellowships, grants, and prizes, awarding nearly $150,000 to writers, editors, and translators.

PEN will be accepting submissions for its 2015 Awards from September 1 through October 31. For a list of all 2015 PEN Awards and information about submission guidelines, please visit www.pen.org/awards.

For the entire list of award recipients, CLICK HERE.

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