Aspen Institute Announces the 2026 Aspen Words Literary Prize Longlist
15 works of fiction in the running for the 9th annual $35,000 award
Aspen, CO, November 13, 2025 – Aspen Words, a program of the Aspen Institute, today announced the 2026 longlist for the Aspen Words Literary Prize (AWLP), a $35,000 annual award for a work of fiction that illuminates a vital contemporary issue.
- “The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother)” by Rabih Alameddine (Grove Press)
- “King of Ashes” by S.A. Cosby (Flatiron Books)
- “The Wilderness” by Angela Flournoy (Mariner Books)
- “Culpability” by Bruce Holsinger (Spiegel & Grau)
- “Intemperance: A Novel” by Sonora Jha (HarperVia)
- “The River Is Waiting” by Wally Lamb (Simon and Schuster; Marysue Rucci Books)
- “Ring: A Novel” by Michelle Lerner (Bancroft Press)
- “A Family Matter” by Claire Lynch (Scribner)
- “Wild Dark Shore” by Charlotte McConaghy (Flatiron Books)
- “These Heathens: A Novel” by Mia McKenzie (Random House)
- “Happy Land” by Dolen Perkins-Valdez (Berkley)
- “This Here Is Love” by Princess Joy L. Perry (W. W. Norton & Company)
- “Endling” by Maria Reva (Doubleday)
- “Behind the Waterline” by Kionna Walker LeMalle (Blair)
- “So Far Gone: A Novel” by Jess Walter (Harper)
More information: www.aspenwords.org/longlist
The longlist includes three fiction debuts: “Ring: A Novel” by Michelle Lerner, “A Family Matter” by Claire Lynch and “Behind the Waterline” by Kionna Walker LeMalle. This year’s jury—Kate Bowler, Michael Cader, Jamil Jan Kochai (the 2023 AWLP winner), Imbolo Mbue, and Héctor Tobar—will select five finalists and one winner.
Elisabeth Egan, writer and editor at The New York Times Book Review will moderate a conversation with the finalists at the prize ceremony on Thursday, April 23.
“The Aspen Words Literary Prize celebrates fiction that refuses to look away from the world as it is,” said Aspen Words Executive Director Adrienne Brodeur. “This year’s longlist tackles the fractures and forces that shape contemporary life—gender, class, migration, technology, identity—with imagination and moral clarity. These writers remind us that storytelling is one of our deepest ways of seeing.”
About the Aspen Words Literary Prize
The $35,000 Aspen Words Literary Prize honors an influential work of fiction that illuminates a vital contemporary issue and demonstrates the transformative power of literature on thought and culture. Open to authors of any nationality, the award is one of the largest literary prizes in the United States, and one of the few focused exclusively on socially engaged fiction. The prize’s past winners include Mohsin Hamid, Tayari Jones, Christy Lefteri, Louise Erdrich, Dawnie Walton, Jamil Jan Kochai, Isabella Hammad, and Tommy Orange.
The five 2026 finalists will be announced on March 11, 2026, and the winner will be revealed on April 23, 2026.
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Download author bios and book descriptions
Aspen Words Literary Prize logo here
Questions or requests for author interviews can be directed to:
Mallory Kaufman, Senior Program Associate
Aspen Words | The Aspen Institute
[email protected]
Phone: 970-925-3122 ext. 2
Aspen Words was founded in 1976 as a literary center based in Aspen, CO. A program of the Aspen Institute, its mission is to encourage writers, inspire readers and connect people through the power of stories. For more information, visit www.aspenwords.org.
The Aspen Institute is a global nonprofit organization whose purpose is to ignite human potential to build understanding and create new possibilities for a better world. Founded in 1949, the Institute drives change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve society’s greatest challenges. It is headquartered in Washington, DC and has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, as well as an international network of partners. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org.
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