PEN/Hemingway Award 2020: Complete list of winners

The PEN/Hemingway Award has long celebrated the most promising debut novelists working in English, and the 2020 winner proves why this award remains one of the literary world’s most anticipated announcements each year. A Prayer for Travelers by Ruchika Tomar claimed the top prize, a remarkable achievement for a first novel that immediately signaled Tomar as a distinctive new voice in contemporary fiction. The PEN/Hemingway Award, which honors Ernest Hemingway’s legacy by recognizing exceptional first books of fiction, carries particular prestige because it focuses exclusively on debuts—making it a bellwether for which authors are likely to shape the literary landscape for years to come.

Tomar’s debut, set across the American Southwest, impressed judges with its lyrical prose and complex exploration of displacement and belonging. The novel follows its characters through a landscape rendered with both beauty and unease, marking Tomar as a writer unafraid to challenge readers while drawing them into an intimate emotional world. Winning the PEN Hemingway Award at the debut stage is no small feat; it’s often the kind of recognition that launches careers and draws serious attention from readers, critics, and publishing houses alike.

Here’s what you need to know about this year’s acclaimed winner:

Debut Novel

• A Prayer for Travelers by Ruchika Tomar