PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel

The PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel has honored first books of fiction by American writers since 1976, with the aim of drawing attention to promising new voices. PEN New England ran it until 2017 and PEN America from 2017 through 2025; it is now administered by the PEN/Faulkner Foundation, with the Hemingway Foundation and Society as a partner. Early winners included story collections, but today the award is limited to a debut novel.

A panel of three judges reads the books submitted by publishers and agents, then names a longlist in January, a group of finalists, and a winner, usually announced in March. The winner receives $10,000 and a residency at the Ucross Foundation to support new work. The finalists and winner are celebrated each spring at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston, which holds Ernest Hemingway's papers.

Debut novels published in the United States during the calendar year by living U.S. citizens or permanent residents who have not previously published a novel; an earlier story collection or self-published novel does not disqualify an author.