PEN/Faulkner Award 1986: Complete list of winners

The 1986 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction went to Peter Taylor for his collection The Old Forest and Other Stories, a recognition that cemented Taylor’s reputation as one of America’s finest practitioners of short fiction. The award, which honors the most outstanding work of fiction by an American writer published during the previous year, has long served as a crucial counterweight to more commercially-driven literary prizes—focusing on artistic achievement rather than bestseller status. Taylor’s win that year highlighted the PEN/Faulkner Award’s commitment to recognizing nuanced, character-driven narratives that might not command mainstream attention but demonstrate extraordinary craft.

Taylor’s collection exemplified what made the 1986 awards season notable: a return to form and substance in American letters, with judges favoring work that exhibited psychological depth and regional authenticity. The Old Forest and Other Stories presented readers with carefully observed portraits of Tennessee life, showcasing Taylor’s trademark exploration of memory, family dynamics, and the untold stories that simmer beneath polite society. His selection underscored the PEN/Faulkner’s enduring mission to champion literary excellence and to maintain a space where serious fiction writers could be recognized alongside whatever dominated the bestseller lists that year.

Below are the complete 1986 winners and finalists:

Fiction

• The Old Forest and Other Stories by Peter Taylor