The Correspondent by Virginia Evans (Crown) won the inaugural James Patterson and Bookshop.org Prize, which is "dedicated to celebrating debut authors, hand-selected by independent booksellers." The award honors full-length debut books published in the U.S. within the past 12 months. All nominations and selections were made by booksellers working in qualifying independent bookstores. Evans receives $15,000 as winner, and first runner-up Milo Todd gets $10,000 for The Lilac People (Counterpoint).
"I've been a longtime supporter of Indie bookstores–and emerging authors," Patterson said. "Creating this award that recognizes both the booksellers that are getting books into the hands of readers and of course, the books themselves, was a no-brainer to me. I'm excited to see which titles are nominated by those who in my opinion are the real experts!"
Beth Seufer Buss of Bookmarks, Winston-Salem, N.C., praised The Correspondent as a "powerful novel about connection; Sybil's journey through trauma and grief is both poignant and compelling, making this an unforgettable read. From the beginning of her book journey, Virginia Evans has been a champion of independent bookstores, and as her local indie, we've loved watching her journey and connection with readers. The trajectory of The Correspondent from a debut novel to a NYT bestseller (4 months after release) to a #1 NYT bestseller (8 months after release) illustrates the power of readers connecting and sharing books."
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Mahreen Sohail's Small Scale Sinners (A Public Space) has won the 2026 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. Sohail receives $15,000. The authors of the other finalists--Addie E. Citchens, for Dominion; Quiara Alegría Hudes, for The White Hot; Jonas Hassen Khemiri, for The Sisters; and Lily King, for Heart the Lover--each receive $5,000.
Judges said, "In Small Scale Sinners, the magnitude of the small is roundly confirmed. This brief volume reveals the vast universes within the realm of the domestic. Sentences collect the infinite, and single lives contain multitudes. Sohail's small scale presents our largest subjects: family, love, humor, and horror. We celebrate these beautiful stories. Their complexity and compassion challenge ideas of power by proclaiming the humane wisdom of fiction."
Mahreen Sohail was born in Islamabad, Pakistan. She has an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College, where she studied as a Fulbright Scholar, and was a Writing Fellow at A Public Space and a Charles Pick Fellow at the University of East Anglia. Her work has appeared in Granta, the Kenyon Review, Pushcart Prize XLII, and elsewhere. She lives in Washington, D.C.
Sohail said, "I wrote the stories in Small Scale Sinners over the course of a decade. With the book I was trying to map out possible ways of being an independent woman in the world. I am moved to see this book slowly find its readers, very grateful that it resonated with the judges of the PEN/Faulkner Award, and immensely honored to see it share space with such excellent writing."