PEN Open Book Award (Multigenre) Grant

PEN Open Book Award (Multigenre) Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: PEN America
Amount: US $10,000
Last Updated: July 19, 2025

Summary

The PEN Open Book Award, presented by PEN America, recognizes literary works by authors of color published in the U.S. during the year. With a focus on diversity, it awards a $10,000 prize and a residency in Italy to authors who have not yet garnered significant media attention. This award promotes underrepresented voices in literature, celebrating fiction, nonfiction, and poetry that challenge the norms and enrich the literary landscape.

Overview

PEN America Founded in 1922, PEN America is the largest of the more than 100 centers worldwide that make up the PEN International network. PEN America works to ensure that people everywhere have the freedom to create literature, to convey information and ideas, to express their views, and to access the views, ideas, and literatures of others. Our strength is our Membership—a nationwide community of more than 4,500 novelists, journalists, nonfiction writers, editors, poets, essayists, playwrights, publishers, translators, agents, and other writing professionals, as well as devoted readers and supporters who join with them to carry out PEN America’s mission. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible. PEN America Literary Awards Founded in 1963, the PEN America Literary Awards honor the most outstanding voices in literature across diverse genres, including fiction, poetry, science writing, essays, sports writing, biography, children’s literature, and drama. With the help of our partners, PEN America confers over 20 distinct awards, fellowships, and grants each year, awarding over $370,000 to writers and translators annually. The PEN America Literary Awards program celebrates literary excellence, encourages global discourse, champions important voices, and brings new books to life through our publication awards. From exciting new voices to underrecognized masters of their craft, PEN America honors challenging, thought-provoking, genre-defying writers. PEN Open Book Award The PEN Open Book Award, formerly the Beyond Margins Awards, invites book submissions by authors of color, published in the United States during the applicable calendar year. The Open Book Award was created by PEN America’s Open Book Committee, a group committed to racial and ethnic diversity within the literary and publishing communities. Works of fiction, literary nonfiction, biography/memoir, poetry, and other works of literary character are strongly preferred. Beginning in the 2021 award cycle, the award confers a $10,000 prize upon an author of color who has, prior to the submitted book’s publication, not received wide media attention. The winner additionally receives a fully-funded artist residency at Civitella Ranieri, located in a 15th century castle in rural Umbria, Italy. All winners, finalists, and longlisters for this award are eligible to receive PEN America’s official emblems.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Who is eligible: A candidate’s work must have been published in the United States by a trade publisher between January 1 and December 31 of the applicable calendar year. Eligible books must be written by a single, living author in English. The PEN Open Book Award is open to authors of color who have not, prior to the submitted book’s publication, received wide media coverage. U.S. residency or citizenship is not required.

Ineligibility

Self-published books are ineligible.Books with more than one original author are ineligible for the PEN America Literary Awards. Authors may not submit their own books.Writers who are also current PEN America staff or interns, trustees, or chairs of Member committees are not eligible for any of the Awards and/or Grants offered by the Literary Awards Program. Additionally, all current members of the Literary Awards Committee are ineligible.