Here’s the Center for Fiction’s 2026 First Novel Prize shortlist.

The Center for Fiction has announced the shortlist for their yearly First Novel Prize, which was judged this twelvemonth by R. O. Kwon, Kiese Laymon, Jordy Rosenberg, and Danzy Senna. The shortlisted authors volition each beryllium awarded $1,000 and the winner, who volition beryllium announced successful December, volition person $15,000 “in designation of their publication to modern lit and successful enactment of their ongoing originative career.”

In the meantime, here’s the shortlist:

Emeline Atwood, A Real Animal
(Catapult)

Samantha Josephs, Carrying
(G. P. Putnam’s Sons)

T Kira Madden, Whidbey
(Mariner Books)

Giada Scodellaro, Ruins, Child
(New Directions Publishing)

Avigayl Sharp, Offseason
(Astra House)

Ankur Thakkar, Blow Yourself Up
(TriQuarterly Books)

Nafissa Thompson-Spires, The Four Wives and Five Deaths of Richard Milford
(Scribner)