PEN/Hemingway Award 2024: Complete list of winners

The PEN/Hemingway Award, one of the most prestigious honors for debut fiction writers, has crowned its 2024 winner, and it’s a testament to the kind of literary talent the award has championed since its inception. Countries of Origin by Fuentes Javier takes home the Debut Novel prize, marking a significant moment for a work that captures something essential about displacement, identity, and the invisible borders we carry within ourselves. The PEN/Hemingway Award, administered by PEN America, has long served as a launching pad for remarkable voices, and this year’s selection continues that tradition of recognizing fiction that combines stylistic excellence with emotional resonance.

Javier’s debut novel represents exactly the kind of work the PEN/Hemingway Award aims to celebrate—a propulsive, skillfully crafted narrative that announces a major new talent in American letters. The honor places Countries of Origin in the company of previous winners whose careers have been transformed by this recognition, offering both validation and visibility to a writer who clearly has much more to say. For readers and industry watchers alike, the PEN/Hemingway Award winner often becomes essential reading, a signal that here is a voice worth your attention.

Below, you’ll find the complete details on this year’s winner and what makes this debut so distinctive in the 2024 literary landscape.

Debut Novel

• Countries of Origin by Fuentes Javier