PEN/Faulkner Award 2005: Complete list of winners

The 2005 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction went to Ha Jin for his powerful novel War Trash, cementing the prize’s reputation for recognizing ambitious, unflinching storytelling. Founded in 1981 and named after the legendary William Faulkner, the PEN/Faulkner Award has long served as one of American letters’ most prestigious honors, celebrating the year’s finest fiction from U.S. authors. Ha Jin’s win marked a significant moment for the award—here was a novel that grappled with the Korean War through the eyes of a Chinese prisoner of war, exploring themes of identity, survival, and the moral complexities of conflict with the kind of depth and nuance that the PEN/Faulkner tends to champion.

Ha Jin, who had already established himself as a major literary voice with works like Waiting and The Crazed, delivered in War Trash a historical novel that transcended typical war narrative conventions. The book’s unflinching examination of imprisonment, cultural displacement, and the psychological toll of ideological struggle resonated with the award’s judges, who recognized in it the kind of literary merit and artistic courage that Faulkner himself embodied. The 2005 PEN Faulkner Award winner selection underscored the prize’s commitment to recognizing fiction that challenges readers while maintaining the highest standards of craft.

Here are the complete winners and honorees from the 2005 PEN/Faulkner Award:

Fiction

• War Trash by Ha Jin