Living Canon

PEN/Faulkner Award 1990: Complete list of winners

The 1990 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction went to E. L. Doctorow for his novel Billy Bathgate, a choice that reflected the award’s longstanding commitment to recognizing ambitious, formally inventive American fiction. Doctorow’s crime-soaked historical novel—narrated by a young street orphan who becomes entangled with Dutch Schultz’s underworld empire during Prohibition—showcased the kind of genre-bending storytelling that the PEN/Faulkner Award has championed since its inception in 1981. The honor placed Doctorow among an elite group of American writers whom the award had previously recognized, cementing his status as one of the nation’s most significant literary voices.

The PEN/Faulkner Award, named after William Faulkner and administered by the PEN/Faulkner Foundation, holds a special place in American literary culture. Unlike some major prizes that consider international works or have broader mandates, the PEN/Faulkner focuses exclusively on fiction by living American writers, making it one of the nation’s richest and most democratic literary honors. By the 1990 ceremony, the award had already established itself as a bellwether for serious fiction, often championing writers who might not have secured mainstream commercial success but whose work demonstrated remarkable craft and vision.

Billy Bathgate’s victory that year demonstrated the award’s appreciation for historical fiction rendered with psychological depth and stylistic sophistication. The novel’s portrait of gangland life through a young protagonist’s coming-of-age narrative offered readers both narrative propulsion and literary substance—precisely the combination the PEN/Faulkner judges value. Below, you’ll find the complete details of the 1990 winner and the context surrounding this important moment in American letters.

Fiction