Winners have been selected for the 2026 Dayton Literary Peace Prizes, which honor "writers whose work uses the power of the written word to foster peace, social justice, and global understanding." The two winners--in fiction and nonfiction--receive $10,000 each; runners-up receive $5,000 each. They will all be celebrated at an awards ceremony in Dayton, Ohio, the weekend of November 7-8.
In addition, author and bookseller Ann Patchett is receiving the Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award.
Fiction winner: The Sunflower Boys by Sam Wachman (Harper)
Fiction runner-up: Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy (Flatiron Books)
Nonfiction winner: Mother Emanuel: Two Centuries of Race, Resistance, and Forgiveness in One Charleston Church by Kevin Sack (Crown)
Nonfiction runner-up: Original Sins: The (Mis)education of Black and Native Children and the Construction of American Racism by Eve Ewing (One World)