PEN/Hemingway Award 2007: Complete list of winners

The PEN/Hemingway Award has long distinguished itself as a crucial honor for writers making their literary debuts, and the 2007 edition proved no exception. This prestigious annual prize, which honors the most distinctive debut novels published in English, recognizes work that demonstrates exceptional craft and voice—the kind of writing that signals the arrival of a significant new talent. The award takes its name from Ernest Hemingway’s famous aesthetic principle that good writing should be true above all else, and winners are selected for achieving that kind of authentic, compelling storytelling that stays with readers long after the final page.

Ben Fountain’s Brief Encounters With Che Guevara claimed the 2007 PEN/Hemingway Award for debut fiction, introducing readers to a collection of stories that moved effortlessly between literary sophistication and genuine human emotion. The award itself carries considerable weight in publishing circles—it’s the kind of honor that can launch a career, drawing attention from serious readers and critics alike. The PEN/Hemingway Award selection process emphasizes quality over commercial potential, making it a beacon for those seeking genuinely innovative debut work in contemporary fiction.

Below you’ll find details about this year’s winner and what made the selection particularly noteworthy in the landscape of 2007 publishing.

Debut Novel

• Brief Encounters With Che Guevara by Ben Fountain