Shortlist Announced for the 2026 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing

The Stanford University Libraries is pleased to present the shortlist for the twelfth William Saroyan International Prize for Writing (Saroyan Prize), a Prize intended to encourage new or emerging writers and honor the Saroyan literary legacy of originality, vitality and stylistic innovation. The Prize recognizes newly published works of both fiction and non-fiction. $5,000 will be awarded in each category. Winners and finalists will be announced in late summer/early fall. The 2026 Saroyan Prize shortlist is as follows:  

In the Fiction Category:

The Immortal Woman (House of Anansi Press, 2025) by Su Chang

Homeseeking (G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2025) by Karissa Chen

Outside Women (University Press of Kentucky, 2025) by Roohi Choudhry

This is the Only Kingdom (Algonquin Books, 2025) by Jaquira Díaz

Finding My Olympia (Kafeneon Productions, 2025) by Nancy Econome

If the Dead Belong Here (Viking, 2025) by Carson Faust

Ibis (The Overlook Press, an imprint of Abrams, 2025) by Justin Haynes

The Ephemera Collector (Liveright Publishing, an imprint of W.W. Norton & Company, 2025) by Stacy Nathaniel Jackson

My Prisoner and Other Stories (Mad Creek Books, an imprint of The Ohio State University Press, 2025) by Tyler McAndrew

América del Norte (Soho Press, 2024) by Nicolás Medina Mora

Whale Fall (Pantheon Books, 2024) by Elizabeth O’Connor

The Plan of Chicago: A City in Stories (Cornerstone Press, 2025) by Barry Pearce

Ghost Fish (Little, Brown and Company, 2025) by Stuart Pennebaker

Medusa of the Roses (Grove Atlantic, 2024) by Navid Sinaki

One to Many and other experiments (At the Bay | I te Kokoru, 2024) by Sharni Wilson
 

In the Nonfiction Category:

Pieces You'll Never Get Back: A Memoir of Unlikely Survival (Catapult, 2025) by Samina Ali

Dandelion: A Memoir in Essays (Jaded Ibis Press, 2025) by Danielle Bainbridge

The Waterbearers: A Memoir of Mothers and Daughters (Alfred A. Knopf, 2025) by Sasha Bonét

Unexploded Ordnance (Restless Books, 2025) by Catharina Coenen

Raising Hare: A Memoir (Pantheon Books, 2025) by Chloe Dalton

Green World: A Tragicomic Memoir of Love & Shakespeare (University of Massachusetts Press, 2024) by Michelle Ephraim

The Strangers: Five Extraordinary Black Men and the Worlds That Made Them (HarperCollins, 2024) by Ekow Eshun

American Scare: Florida's Hidden Cold War on Black and Queer Lives (Dutton, 2025) by Robert W. Fieseler

Bigger: Essays (Autumn House Press, 2025) by Ren Cedar Fuller

A Perfect Turmoil: Walter E. Fernald and the Struggle to Care for America’s Disabled (Bellevue Literary Press, 2025) by Alex Green

Forest Euphoria: The Abounding Queerness of Nature (Spiegel & Grau, 2025) by Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian

Black Boys Like Me: Confrontations with Race, Identity, and Belonging (Viking Canada, 2024) by Matthew R. Morris

Not Your China Doll: The Wild and Shimmering Life of Anna May Wong (Dutton, 2024) by Katie Gee Salisbury

The Afterlife is Letting Go (City Lights, 2024) by Brandon Shimoda

Destroy This House (Summit Books, 2025) by Amanda Uhle
 

Congratulations to the authors and publishers!

The Saroyan Prize is a biennial competition jointly awarded by the Stanford University Libraries and the William Saroyan Foundation. It commemorates the life, legacy and intentions of William Saroyan - author, artist, dramatist, composer - and is intended to encourage new or emerging writers, rather than to recognize established literary figures. 

The 2024 winners were Mirinae Lee (8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster, Harper, 2023) for the fiction category, and Fae Myenne Ng (Orphan Bachelors, Grove Press, 2023) for the non-fiction category. 

"The Saroyan Prize generates great excitement at Stanford, engaging a vibrant community of avid readers and authors, along with our dedicated alumni volunteers and library professionals who administer the prize," said Michael A. Keller, the Ida M. Green University Librarian. "We are honored to recommend these thirty shortlisted works to our esteemed panel of judges, who will announce the winners this summer, celebrating William Saroyan's spirit of storytelling that resonates across generations." 

This year's distinguished judging panel for fiction consists of authors Sumbul Ali-Karamali and Elizabeth McKenzie, and Scott Setrakian, President of the William Saroyan Foundation. The non-fiction panel includes authors and past Saroyan Prize winners, Mark Arax and Lori Jakiela, and musician and bibliophile Fritz Kasten. More information about our judges can be found on the Saroyan Prize website. 

Literary fiction, including novels, short story collections, and drama, are eligible for the Saroyan Fiction Prize. Literary non-fiction of any length is eligible for the Saroyan Non-fiction Prize, most particularly writing in the Saroyan tradition: memoirs, portraits and excursions into neighborhood and community. Entries in either category are limited to English language publications that are available for individual purchase by the general public. 

William Saroyan, an American writer and playwright, is a Pulitzer Prize and Academy Award winner best known for his short stories about humorous experiences of immigrant families and children in California. Much of Saroyan's other work is clearly autobiographical, although similar in style and technique to fiction. Saroyan was the fourth child of Armenian immigrants. He battled his way through poverty and rose to literary prominence in the early 1930s when national magazines began publishing his short stories, such as The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze, My Name Is Aram, Inhale & Exhale, Three Times Three, and Peace, It's Wonderful. Saroyan soon moved on to writing plays for Broadway and screenplays for Hollywood, including: My Heart's in the Highlands, The Time of Your Life, The Beautiful People, and The Human Comedy.

The William Saroyan Foundation Announces "Saroyan Days" in Armenia

A weeklong celebration honoring the iconic Armenian-American writer's life and legacy

Yerevan, September 4, 2025: This September, the William Saroyan Foundation will present

Saroyan Days (September 5–11), a weeklong celebration showcasing rare works and fresh

perspectives on the life and influence of acclaimed Armenian-American author William Saroyan.

Presented in partnership with the U.S. Embassy Yerevan and the Ministry of Education, Science,

Culture and Sports of the Republic of Armenia, the program will unveil 22 previously

unpublished stories and 100 never-before-seen paintings from Saroyan’s archives—marking

the largest release of new Saroyan material in more than two decades. Events will include art

exhibitions, theatrical performances, film screenings, literary discussions, and a showcase of

emerging Armenian creatives.

In a video on posted on the Embassy’s social media, U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Kristina

Kvien said, “Today, on the great Armenian-American writer William Saroyan’s birthday, I’m

excited to officially kick off Saroyan Days — a week of cultural events celebrating his life and

legacy. Let’s celebrate the spirit of William Saroyan together. We look forward to seeing you at

Saroyan Days!”

“We are delighted to bring this remarkable new material to Armenia,” said Scott Setrakian,

President of the William Saroyan Foundation. “Alongside these rare works, we’re creating

programs that invite a new generation to engage with Saroyan’s defiant optimism and timeless

vision.”

Event Schedule

September 5

• Art Exhibition Opening – "Saroyan: The Colors Behind the Words," featuring 100 never-

before-seen paintings (from 11:00 AM, Museum of Literature and Art – Public, tickets at

the door)• Theater and Film Night (5:00 PM, Yerevan Institute of Theater and Cinematography –

Public, free)

September 6

• Book Launch – 22 Unpublished Stories by William Saroyan, compiled by Scott Setrakian

and published in Armenian by Antares Press. Co-hosted by the Yerevan International

Book Festival, Stanford University, the Ministry of Culture and the Saroyan Foundation

(5:00 PM, National Gallery of Armenia – Public, free)

September 7

• William Saroyan Prize for Short Fiction will be awarded during the Yerevan Book

Festival closing ceremony. Hosted by the Yerevan International Book Festival and the

Ministry of Culture (7:00 PM, Hakob Paronyan State Theater of Musical Comedy –

Public, free)

September 8

• William Saroyan at the National Library exploring Saroyan's cultural impact and

Armenian-language publications (2:00 PM, National Library of Armenia – Public, free)

• Stage Performance – Train Stories, a dramatic adaptation by the Malyan Theatre, co-

hosted by U.S. Embassy Yerevan and Saroyan Foundation (7:00 PM – tickets at the door)

September 9

• William Saroyan: An Evening of Readings – Readings and discussion of newly

discovered works. Hosted by the American University of Armenia (5:00 PM, AUA,

Akian Gallery – Public, free)

September 10

• Young Artists’ Showcase – Celebrating Saroyan's influence on a new generation of

Armenian artists in literature, theater, film, and visual art hosted by Creative Armenia and

AGBU (6:30 PM, AGBU Headquarters – Public, free)September–November

• Saroyan Art Contest for Kids – Organized by COAF in partnership with the Charents

Museum and managed from the COAF SMART Center in Lori. Open to youth aged 11–

15 across Armenia, with winners announced in November.

Media Contact:

Scott Setrakian

President, The William Saroyan Foundation

scott@setrakian.com

About the William Saroyan Foundation

The William Saroyan Foundation, established by William Saroyan in 1966, preserves and

promotes the legacy of this Pulitzer Prize and Oscar Award winning writer, playwright, and

artist—widely regarded as history’s most celebrated Armenian-American voice and one of the

great literary figures of the 20th century.

Saroyan Days Partners

Museum of Literature and Art · National Library of Armenia · Office of the High Commissioner

for Diaspora Affairs · Yerevan International Book Festival · Armenia General Benevolent Union

· Creative Armenia · Children of Armenia Fund · Yerevan State Institute of Theatre and

Cinematography · Malyan Theatre · Stanford University · Antares Media Holdings · American

University of Armenia · Zangak Book Store · Armenian Studies Department, Fresno State · The

Alexander Hotel · ArmAs Winery · Blue Wave Creative Agency · U.S. Embassy Yerevan · The

Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the Republic of Armenia · The William

Saroyan Foundation

Mirinae Lee and Fae Myenne Ng awarded the 2024 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing

August 22, 2024 | David Jordan

8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster (Harper, 2023), a novel by Mirinae Lee, and Orphan Bachelors(Grove Press, 2023), a memoir by Fae Myenne Ng, are the newly published books chosen to receive the 2024 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing administered by Stanford University Libraries and the William Saroyan Foundation. The biennial prize honors the life and legacy of novelist, playwright, and short-story author William Saroyan by encouraging and celebrating the works of new and emerging writers.

University Librarian Michael A. Keller announced awards of $5,000 to each winner and remarked, “Both of these outstanding books offer fascinating cultural insights at the person-to-person level otherwise very difficult to perceive.”

Mirinae Lee, winner in the fiction category for her first novel, 8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster, lives in Hong Kong and has previously published short fiction in several notable literary periodicals. Inspired by the story of Lee’s great aunt, one of the oldest women to escape alone from North Korea, the novel’s protagonist spins stories of life in the demilitarized zone at the border of North and South Korea and in other conflict-ridden settings.

The Saroyan Prize fiction judges said: “Lee's characters are so fascinating and complicated that the need to decipher them and unravel their mysteries generates unexpected suspense and a desire to rush toward the answers, but her lyrical and evocative prose simultaneously demands a slow savoring of each page. A beautifully complex story of human frailty and strength.”

The finalists in fiction were A Down Home Meal for these Difficult Times (Restless Books, 2022) by Meron Hadero and Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century (Tin House, 2022) by Kim Fu. Each book is a compilation of short stories, the former about immigrants and refugees finding new homes and the latter about building fantastic new worlds in modern times.

Fae Myenne Ng, winner in the nonfiction category for Orphan Bachelors, is an author of short fiction and two award-winning novels and has written this memoir of her family’s life in San Francisco’s Chinatown and of her father’s struggles to secure citizenship. Subtitled “On Being a Confession Baby, Chinatown Daughter, Baa-Bai Sister, Caretaker of Exotics, Literary Balloon Peddler, and Grand Historian of a Doomed American Family,” the memoir spans generations.

The Saroyan Prize nonfiction judges said: “Beautiful, poetic, with astonishing leaps in time and place, this book stood out for its experimental structure and raw honesty. A ‘book of living memory,’ Orphan Bachelors focuses on the effects of U.S. immigration laws, specifically the Exclusion Act. This is a book about absences and secrets and what is lost in families when silence is the norm. Built on segmented memories, on deciphering family lies from truth, on balancing history with the author’s place in a world that is and is not home, Orphan Bachelors is a brilliant narrative of the immigrant experience, told through the lens of a writer who knows how to weave fragments into whole cloth.”

The finalists in nonfiction were Beyond Innocence: The Life Sentence of Darryl Hunt (Grove Atlantic, 2022) by Phoebe Zerwick and I Would Meet You Anywhere (Mad Creek Books, an imprint of The Ohio State University Press, 2023) by Susan Kiyo Ito. The former is about a falsely incarcerated man exonerated eighteen years later by DNA evidence, and the latter about a woman’s relationship with her long-absent birth mother and the legacy of the Japanese American incarceration experience during World War II.

This year’s panel of distinguished Saroyan Prize judges comprised Sumbul Ali-Karamali, Elizabeth McKenzie and Scott Setrakian for fiction and Mark Arax, Lori Jakiela and Fritz Kasten for nonfiction. The six judges, including three Stanford alumni, two former Saroyan Prize winners, and the President of the William Saroyan Foundation, are themselves the authors of numerous award-winning books and other creative productions. Nearly 250 additional volunteers, primarily members of the Stanford Alumni Association, read the entries and provided initial evaluations to the judging committee.

“We are especially thankful to the volunteer readers and judges, both new and returning, who make the Saroyan Prize possible,” Keller said. “Characters and circumstances reminiscent of Saroyan’s depictions of Armenian Americans revealed his lasting influence in many of the nearly 320 entries. The finalists and winners stood out for their superb storytelling abilities, as did one of California’s and our nation’s greatest writers, William Saroyan.”

“William Saroyan and Art” Conference Report from Yerevan, Armenia

RA NAS Art Institute (Yerevan) and the William Saroyan Foundation (San Francisco) held an international scientific conference "William Saroyan and Art" in a mixed format on November 17-18, 2023, dedicated to the 115th anniversary of the outstanding writer's birth.

35 speakers took part in this unprecedented conference in Saroyan studies, which revealed the relationship between Saroyan and art: researchers of the Institutes of Art, History, and Literature of the RA NAS, representatives of universities, distinguished figures of art, culture, literature, internationally renowned leading scientists and young researchers from Armenia, the USA from Russia, Great Britain, Iceland and Serbia. The opening of the conference was attended by Daniel Danielyan, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Armenia, who, welcoming the organizers and participants, noted in his speech. "I attach great importance to the holding of the conference, in the framework of which various manifestations of Saroyan art will be put on a scientific basis." At the end of his speech, Danielyan read an excerpt from Saroyan's story "The Armenian and the Armenian", reaffirming the unbreakable spirit of the Armenian and the vitality of the Saroyan line even today.

Anna Asatryan, the director of RA NAS Art Institute, mentioned in her speech that the conference "William Saroyan and Art" will reveal Saroyan, who has various talents. "Perhaps, at first glance, the title of the conference, "William Saroyan and art", will cause confusion and surprise. Isn't William Saroyan, as we all know, an outstanding writer?" She emphasized that Saroyan's works stimulated the development of Armenian art. "Among other things, Saroyan's plays were staged in the theaters of Armenia and the Diaspora and played a major role in the creative destiny of Armenian directors and actors."

Yuri Suvaryan, Academician-Secretary of the Department of Armenian Studies and Social Sciences of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, made a speech of welcome. "This conference is dedicated to the interdisciplinary issue of literature and art. The conference is an opportunity to appreciate Saroyan's literary heritage once again and to consider it from the point of view of art," said the academician.

William Saroyan Foundation President Scott Setrakian joined the conference remotely from San Francisco, warmly welcoming the participants. "I was thinking how Saroyan would react to this meeting, which is being held in Armenia 115 years after his birth, and in which leading scientists are speaking. I think he would say. "This is the funniest thing I've ever seen." But I know he would be very pleased. Saroyan was very attentive to his heritage. We should all be proud to be a part of this conference," said Scott Setrakian. Setrakian's report "William Saroyan, an artist" was dedicated to Saroyan's fine art.

Anna Asatryan, Doctor of Arts, Professor, Honored Art Worker of the RA, Director of the Art Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of the RA, presented the report "Martin Vardazaryan's music written for William Saroyan's play "The Beautiful People" by Sos Sargsyan at the Hamazkayin Theater.

Doctor of Musicology, Professor of Kaufman Music Center Nune Melikyan from New York presented her report titled "William Saroyan and Arno Babajanyan. American and Soviet legends."

Shortlist Announced for the 2024 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing

The Stanford University Libraries is pleased to present the shortlist for the eleventh William Saroyan International Prize for Writing (Saroyan Prize), a Prize intended to encourage new or emerging writers and honor the Saroyan literary legacy of originality, vitality and stylistic innovation. The Prize recognizes newly published works of both fiction and non-fiction. $5,000 will be awarded in each category. Winners and finalists will be announced in late summer/early fall. The 2024 Saroyan Prize shortlist is as follows:
 

In the Fiction Category:

A Nearby Country Called Love (Viking, 2023) by Salar Abdoh

Carmen and Grace  (William Morrow, 2023) by Melissa Coss Aquino

The Man Who Sold Air in the Holy Land (Random House, 2022) by Omer Friedlander

Here Lies (Grove Press, 2022) by Olivia Clare Friedman

Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century (Tin House, 2022) by Kim Fu

A Down Home Meal for These Difficult Times  (Restless Books, 2022) by Meron Hadero

Enter Ghost  (Grove Press, 2023) by Isabella Hammad

Light Skin Gone to Waste (University of Georgia Press, 2022) by Toni Ann Johnson

8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster (Harper, 2023) by Mirinae Lee

An Olive Grove in Ends (Little, Brown and Company, 2022) by Moses McKenzie

Call and Response (Viking, 2023) by Gothataone Moeng

Beautiful Beautiful (Nightwood Editions, 2023) by Brandon Reid

Company  (Graywolf Press, 2023) by Shannon Sanders

A Map for the Missing (Penguin Press, 2022) by Belinda Huijuan Tang

Dearborn (Tin House, 2023) by Ghassan Zeineddine

In the Nonfiction Category:

The Hunger Book: A Memoir from Communist Poland (Mad Creek Books, 2023) by Agata Izabela Brewer

A Living Remedy: A Memoir (Ecco, 2023) by Nicole Chung

The Cost of Free Land: Jews, Lakota, and an American Inheritance  (Viking, 2023) by Rebecca Clarren

A Coastline Is an Immeasurable Thing: A Memoir Across Three Continents  (Ecco, 2022) by Mary-Alice Daniel

The Hungry Season: A Journey of War, Love, and Survival  (Little, Brown and Company, 2023) by Lisa M. Hamilton

Uncommon Measure: A Journey Through Music, Performance, and the Science of Time  (Bellevue Literary Press, 2022) by Natalie Hodges

I Would Meet You Anywhere: A Memoir  (Mad Creek Books, 2023) by Susan Kiyo Ito

The Wreck: A Daughter's Memoir of Becoming a Mother  (Viking, 2023) by Cassandra Jackson

Farewell Transmission: Notes from Hidden Spaces (Dzanc Books, 2022) by Will McGrath

Orphan Bachelors: A Memoir (Grove Press, 2023) by Fae Myenne Ng

Hardship Alaska: A Memoir (Epicenter Press, 2023) by Donald Proffit

Ma and Me  (MCD, 2022) by Putsata Reang

All Water Has Perfect Memory: A Memoir (Jaded Ibis Press, 2023) by Nada Samih-Rotondo

Sink: A Memoir (Grand Central Publishing, 2023) by Joseph Earl Thomas

Beyond Innocence: The Life Sentence of Darryl Hunt  (Grove Press, 2022) by Phoebe Zerwick

Congratulations to the authors and publishers!

The Saroyan Prize is a biennial competition jointly awarded by the Stanford University Libraries and the William Saroyan Foundation. It commemorates the life, legacy and intentions of William Saroyan - author, artist, dramatist, composer - and is intended to encourage new or emerging writers, rather than to recognize established literary figures. The 2022 winners were Claire Oshetsky (Chouette, Ecco, 2021) for the fiction category, and Wayétu Moore (The Dragons, the Giant, the Women, Graywolf Press, 2020) for the non-fiction category.

"Over 240 enthusiastic Stanford alumni and friends volunteered as readers and judges for the eleventh awarding of the Saroyan Prize," said University Librarian Michael A. Keller. "We join with them in encouraging the creativity of new and emerging authors and in congratulating those whose works were selected for the 2024 Shortlist."

This year's distinguished judging panel for fiction consists of authors Sumbul Ali-Karamali and Elizabeth McKenzie, and Scott Setrakian, President of the William Saroyan Foundation. The non-fiction panel includes authors and past Saroyan Prize winners, Mark Arax and Lori Jakiela, and musician and bibliophile Fritz Kasten. More information about our judges can be found on the Saroyan Prize website.

Literary fiction, including novels, short story collections, and drama, are eligible for the Saroyan Fiction Prize. Literary non-fiction of any length is eligible for the Saroyan Non-fiction Prize, most particularly writing in the Saroyan tradition: memoirs, portraits and excursions into neighborhood and community. Entries in either category are limited to English language publications that are available for individual purchase by the general public.

William Saroyan, an American writer and playwright, is a Pulitzer Prize and Academy Award winner best known for his short stories about humorous experiences of immigrant families and children in California. Much of Saroyan's other work is clearly autobiographical, although similar in style and technique to fiction. Saroyan was the fourth child of Armenian immigrants. He battled his way through poverty and rose to literary prominence in the early 1930s when national magazines began publishing his short stories, such as The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze, My Name Is Aram, Inhale & Exhale, Three Times Three, and Peace, It's Wonderful. Saroyan soon moved on to writing plays for Broadway and screenplays for Hollywood, including: My Heart's in the Highlands, The Time of Your Life, The Beautiful People, and The Human Comedy.

Last updated May 7, 2024

Claire Oshetsky and Wayétu Moore awarded the 2022 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing by Stanford Libraries

Stanford, CA--Chouette (Ecco, 2021) a novel by Claire Oshetsky, and The Dragons, the Giant, the Women (Graywolf Press, 2020), a memoir by Wayétu Moore, are the recipients of the 2022 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing administered by Stanford Libraries and the William Saroyan Foundation. The biennial prize honors the life and legacy of novelist, playwright, and short-story author William Saroyan by encouraging and recognizing new and emerging writers.

Michael A. Keller, the Ida M. Green University Librarian at Stanford, announced awards of $5,000 to each winner and remarked, “These two books are fascinating and so obviously the results of serious and sustained creative effort by their authors that we are enormously pleased to continue the tradition of recognizing such new authors, hopefully to help them propel their literary careers.”

Claire Oshetsky, winner in the fiction category, lives in California and has published works in Salon, Wired, and the New York Times. Her debut novel, Chouette, which was also longlisted for the 2022 Pen/Faulkner Award for Fiction, deftly blends a dream of an owl, introduced in the very first sentence, with the reality of mothering a child with a congenital disorder.

The San Francisco Chronicle praised Chouette as “surrealism at its best” and as a book that “forces parents to consider their relationship with their children,” while the Saroyan Prize fiction judges summarized it as “a surreal and rollicking feminist tour de force about motherhood, marriage, and family.”

The finalists in fiction were A Sense of the Whole (Orison Books, 2020), stories by Siamak Vossoughi and The Office of Historical Corrections (Riverhead Books, 2020), a novella and stories by Danielle Evans. In the spirit of Saroyan’s depictions of Armenian Americans, their stories abound with Iranian American, Black, and multiracial characters whose encounters and experiences resonate universally.

Wayétu Moore, winner in the nonfiction category, resides in Brooklyn and is the founder of One Moore Book, a non-profit organization that encourages reading among children of countries with low literacy rates and underrepresented cultures. Her first book, She Would Be King, was a novel.

The New York Times Book Review wrote of Moore’s The Dragons, the Giant, the Women: “This memoir adds an essential voice to the genre of migrant literature, challenging false popular narratives that migration is optional, permanent and always results in a better life.”

The Saroyan Prize nonfiction judges said, “This memoir intricately weaves Moore’s stories of her family’s escape from the first Liberian war, their reunion in Sierra Leone, their eventual immigration to the United States, Moore’s complicated life as a black woman and an immigrant in (of all places) Texas, and finally her return to Liberia—all while trying to find her own place in the world. This is a crazy-quilt, heart-wrenching, fist-clenching, heart-expanding story of one woman’s quest to find something real in a reckless, violent, cruel but still beautiful world.”

The finalist in nonfiction was Kin (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2021) by Shawna Kay Rodenberg, described by its publisher as “a heart stopping memoir of a wrenching Appalachian girlhood and a multilayered portrait of a misrepresented people.”

This year’s panel of distinguished Saroyan Prize judges included Sumbul Ali-Karamali, John Bender, Richard Holeton, Elizabeth McKenzie, Scott Setrakian, and former Saroyan Prize winner Lori Jakiela (2016). Over 220 volunteers, primarily members of the Stanford Alumni Association, read the entries and provided initial evaluations to the judging committee.

“We are especially grateful to our judges and readers, both new and returning, who make the Saroyan Prize possible,” Keller said. “The noticeable presence of Saroyanesque topics and themes in so many of the nearly 300 entries is testimony to the perseverance of the works of one of California’s and our nation’s greatest writers, William Saroyan.”

Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah and Jennifer Croft awarded the 2020 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing by Stanford Libraries

Adjei-Brenyah and Croft were selected as winners, among 247 eligible submissions, for their ability to evoke raw emotion and masterfully leverage the power of language with their writing.

Stanford, CA--Friday Black (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018) by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah and Homesick: A Memoir (Unnamed Press, 2019) by Jennifer Croft are the recipients of the 2020 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing awarded by Stanford Libraries and the William Saroyan Foundation. The biennial prize was designed to encourage and recognize emerging authors in memory of William Saroyan the Armenian-American novelist, playwright, and short-story writer. Friday Black and Homesick: A Memoir are debut books for the authors; each will receive a $5,000 prize.

“The goal of the Saroyan Prize is to raise awareness of the work of our award recipients as well as the wonderfully talented authors who make up our shortlist,” said Mimi Calter, deputy university librarian at Stanford. “I am always pleased to review the submissions and this year I think the spirit of William Saroyan’s legacy is clearly reflected in our winners and finalists.” 

Friday Black, a collection of 12 stories that won in the fiction category, confronts issues of race and social injustice head-on. Adjei-Brenyah’s explosive voice is timely as the United States wrestles with its history. His talent is made apparent almost immediately as his writings intentionally teeter between carnage and compassion leaving readers to process a series of intense emotions. In addition to the Saroyan Prize for Writing Award, Friday Black received the 2019 PEN/Jean Stein Book Award and earned Adjei-Brenyah recognition by the National Book Foundation as one of their “5 Under 35 Authors.” 

Adjei-Brenyah places ordinary characters in extreme situations, whether it be race as a sport, ethics of genetics, or a thriving culture of greed and consumerism, the short stories in Friday Black uses extraordinary examples to give weight to reality. These stories tackle instances of racism and unrest and allow readers to explore the many ways the fight for humanity can occur. The book will challenge and inspire, and provides ample topics to dive deep into conversation.

In his review of Friday Black, George Saunders, renowned writer of short stories and professor of English at Syracuse University wrote, “These stories are an excitement and a wonder: strange, crazed, urgent and funny, yet classical in the way they take on stubborn human problems...” 

The finalists in the fiction category were Some Trick (New Directions, 2019) by Helen DeWitt and The Hundred Wells of Salaga: A Novel (Other Press, 2019) by Ayesha Harruna Attah.

The Saroyan Prize in nonfiction went to Croft, an award-winning translator who artfully intertwines photography and poetic prose in the retelling of the challenges and tragedies that filled her childhood. Homesick: A Memoir is an intimate coming of age story that reveals the foundation on which Croft has developed an internationally recognized career and the healing and perseverance involved along the way. 

Although the story is hers, she tells it through sisters Amy and Zoe. Zoe suffers from debilitating and mysterious seizures, spending her childhood in hospitals as she undergoes surgeries. Meanwhile, Amy (Croft) flourishes intellectually, showing an innate ability to glean a world beyond the troubles in her home life, exploring that world through languages first. Amy’s first love appears in the form of her Russian tutor Sasha, but when she enters university at the age of 15 her life changes drastically and with tragic results. 

“Homesick is brilliant and lovely and breaks the boundaries of traditional memoir in ways that are exciting and human and real,” noted a judge as part of the Saroyan Prize review. “Jennifer's clear and direct prose, her playful exploration of language, and her ability to dive into the complex issues of family and the heart made Homesick leap above...” 

Finalists for nonfiction included How to Write an Autobiographical Novel: Essays (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018) by Alexander Chee and In the Dream House: A Memoir (Graywolf Press, 2019) by Carmen Maria Machado.

This year’s panel of judges included Sumbul Ali-Karamali, Patrick Hunt, Elizabeth McKenzie, Hank Saroyan, and former Saroyan Prize winners Mark Arax (2005) and Lori Jakiela (2016). Additionally, over 225 volunteers, many Stanford alumni, participated as readers for the 2020 Prize.

Calter also offered praise for the volunteers. “Even with the difficulties of 2020, our judges and volunteer book reviewers were committed to seeing this Prize through. It is because of their determination and spirit that the Prize was able to be held in spite of the challenges of a pandemic."

"In the Distance" and "On Trails" win the 2018 Stanford Libraries’ William Saroyan International Prize for Writing

Hernán Diaz and Robert Moor are the 2018 winners of the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing.  The prize, established in 2003 by Stanford Libraries and the William Saroyan Foundation, commemorates Saroyan’s life and legacy, and just as importantly, honors emerging authors who have found a distinctive creative voice. Diaz and Moor will each receive a $5,000 award.  

Diaz won in the fiction category for In the Distance (Coffee House Press), which follows a young Swedish immigrant who finds himself penniless and alone in California. In search of his brother, the boy travels east against the current of emigrants pushing west, meeting naturalists, criminals, religious fanatics, swindlers, Indians, and lawmen. Diaz defies the conventions of historical fiction and genre, offering a probing look at the stereotypes that populate our past and a portrait of radical foreignness.

In an interview with Diaz about In the Distance, the online journal The Nation wrote, “The prose is as unbroken as the horizon. . . . It’s as if Herman Melville had navigated the American West, instead of the ocean.”

Moor was inspired by a 2009 hike thru the Appalachian for his breakthrough book On Trails (Simon & Schuster), which claimed top seat in the nonfiction category.  Moor explores the paths that lie beneath our feet, shines a light on the many paths that connect our world, and illuminates the ways in which those paths guide our lives.

“On every scale of life,” Moor writes, “from microscopic cells to herds of elephants, creatures can be found relying on trails to reduce an overwhelming array of options to a single expeditious route. Without trails, we would be lost.”

Stanford’s Deputy University Librarian Mimi Calter, who also oversees the administration of the Saroyan Prize, was enthusiastic about the selections.  “The styles of both Diaz and Moor engage readers—differently but both effectively,” said Calter, “They are well deserving of recognition and remind us why it is important to give attention to new literary voices.” 

Finalists to Diaz and Moor include:

Fiction

The Traders by Scott Shibuya Brown (Black Lawrence Press)

Lucky Boy by Shanthi Sekaran (G.P. Putnam's Sons)

Nonfiction

Riverine: A Memoir from Anywhere but Here by Angela Palm (Graywolf Press)

Shakespeare in Swahililand: In Search of a Global Poet by Edward Wilson-Lee (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

This year’s distinguished panel of judges included Minal Hajratwala, Elizabeth McKenzie, and Abby Smith Rumsey for the fiction category and Mark Arax, Hank Saroyan, and Barbara Warnock for nonfiction.  Additionally, nearly 200 volunteers, many Stanford alumni, participated as readers for the over 200 submissions. 

Calter also offered praise for the volunteers.  “The devotion of the judges is quite admirmable, in fact it is their commitment, and those of our alumni and library friends who serve as readers, that keeps this Prize moving forward,” she added.  Calter also noted how the Prize has provided great opportunities for alumni to stay connected to campus and the Libraries well after graduation.  

Two former Saroyan Prize winners have books slated for release in 2018.

Margalit Fox, the recipient of the 2014 Saroyan Prize for nonfiction, takes readers through the thrilling murder case where the creator of Sherlock Holmes channels his fictional character to become a real-life detective to exonerate a German Jew wrongly convicted of murder in Conan Doyle for the Defense.  And in October, Kiese Laymon, who received the 2014 Saroyan Prize for fiction, is set to release Heavy, a powerful and provocative memoir that explores what the weight of a lifetime of secrets, lies, and deception does to a black body, a black family, and a nation.

For more information on the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing visit https://library.stanford.edu/saroyan