I am longlisted for the Joyce Carol Oates Literary Prize!

I am radiating pure joy!

The Joyce Carol Oates Prize Longlist Announced

OAKLAND, CA— Thirty-two authors have been longlisted for the 2025 Joyce Carol Oates Prize by New Literary Project (NewLit). The annual $50,000 award honors a mid-career author of fiction in the midst of a burgeoning career, a distinguished writer who has emerged and is still emerging. The Prize celebrates past achievement and supports forthcoming work. The 2025 JCO Prize will be the ninth such yearly award.

The Joyce Carol Oates Prize is awarded not in recognition of a book, but for an author of national consequence—short stories and/or novels—who has published at least two notable books of fiction, and who has yet to receive capstone recognition such as a Pulitzer, National Book Award, or MacArthur. Otherwise, there are no age, geographic, or stylistic restrictions.

This is a working prize, in the sense that the winner will be in brief Fall 2025 residence (seven to ten days) at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Bay Area, where they may give public readings and talks, teach classes, and make appearances.

Longlisted authors were selected from official submissions by publishers, agents, authors, and author representatives. Not-for-profit NewLit collaborates with the University of California, Berkeley, English Department. Finalists are expected to be named in March 2025, the Recipient in April 2025. Recipient and Finalists may participate in Spring events.

Since 2017, 342 authors have been longlisted, published by fifty-six houses. Thus far, forty authors have been shortlisted as finalists, and eight have been awarded the prize. NewLit relies upon the support and good will of publishing houses in order to help sustain the prize and its dynamic educational and literary projects in support of literacy and arts education.

2025 JCO Prize Longlisted Authors & Most Recent Book of Fiction

Rumaan Alam, Entitlement, Riverhead

Jami Attenberg, A Reason to See You Again, Ecco

Marie-Helene Bertino, Beautyland, FSG

Venita Blackburn, Dead in Long Beach, California, MCD

Rita Bullwinkel, Headshot, Viking

Ryan Chapman, The Audacity, Soho

Jennine Capo Crucet, Say Hello to My Little Friend, Simon & Schuster

Leif Enger, I Cheerfully Refuse, Grove Atlantic

Amina Gautier, The Best That You Can Do, Soft Skull

Thomas Grattan, In Tongues, MCD

Abby Geni, The Body Farm, Counterpoint

Cristina Henríquez, The Great Divide, Ecco

Maria Hummel, Goldenseal, Counterpoint

Miranda July, All Fours, Riverhead

Porochista Khakpour, Tehrangeles, Pantheon

Crystal Hana Kim, The Stone Home, William Morrow / HarperCollins

Lisa Ko, Memory Piece, Riverhead

R.O. Kwon, Exhibit, Riverhead

Caroline Leavitt, Days of Wonder, Algonquin

Hilary Leichter, Terrace Story, Ecco

Sarah Manguso, Liars, Hogarth

Chigozie Obioma, The Road to the Country, Hogarth

Tommy Orange, Wandering Stars, Knopf

Kimberly King Parsons, We Were the Universe, Knopf

Julia Phillips, Bear, Hogarth

Andrew Porter, The Disappeared, Knopf

Regina Porter, The Rich People Have Gone Away, Hogarth

Rudy Ruiz, The Border Between Us, Blackstone

Danzy Senna, Colored Television, Riverhead

Morgan Talty, Fire Exit, Tin House

Laura van den Berg, State of Paradise, FSG

Willy Vlautin, The Horse, Harper

Jurors for the 2025 JCO Prize are Laura Cogan, Mark Danner, Joseph Di Prisco, and Hertha Dawn Sweet Wong. The jury will hand up a shortlist of Finalists to the New Literary Project Board of Directors, which determines the Prize Recipient. Joyce Carol Oates serves as an Honorary Director.

Previous Winners of the JCO Prize
Ben Fountain (2024)
Manuel Muñoz (2023)
Lauren Groff (2022)
Danielle Evans (2021)
Daniel Mason (2020)
Laila Lalami (2019)
Anthony Marra (2018)
T. Geronimo Johnson (2017)

Based in Oakland, CA, NewLit is a not-for-profit created in 2015 to inspire and equip writers across the generations—in the words of Joyce Carol Oates—to “write their hearts out.” Through a variety of innovative initiatives–and generously supported by individual donors, foundations, and altruistic corporate and community leaders–the organization drives social change and unleashes artistic power. It does so through fostering arts education, nurturing new literature, supporting authors, and enhancing the lives of readers, writers, educators, and high school and college students in neglected, undervalued, overlooked communities throughout California and the nation.