A total of 28 authors have been selected for the longlist of the 2026 Joyce Carol Oates Prize by New Literary Project, which honors "a mid-career author of fiction in the midst of a burgeoning career, a distinguished writer who has emerged and is still emerging." The winner receives $50,000 and will have a brief Fall 2026 residence at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Bay Area, including Saint Mary's College of California, where they will give public readings and talks, teach classes, and make appearances during the 2026 NewLit Roadshow. Finalists will be named in March 2026, and the winner in April. See the longlist here.
