The finalists for the 2024 Joyce Carol Oates Prize have been revealed, with five authors in contention for the award given annually to “a mid-career fiction writer who has earned a distinguished reputation and the approbation and gratitude of readers.”
Jamel Brinkley was named a finalist; the short story writer is known for his collections A Lucky Man and Witness; the latter was a finalist for the Kirkus Prize, the Aspen Words Literary Prize, and the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction.
Patricia Engel, the John Dos Passos Prize–winning author of novels including The Veins of the Ocean and Infinite Country, made the shortlist, as did Ben Fountain, whose novel Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk won the National Book Critics Circle Award.
Idra Novey, the poet, translator, novelist, and author of Those Who Knew and Take What You Need, was named a finalist, alongside Bennett Sims, whose books include White Dialogues and Other Minds and Other Stories.
The $50,000 Joyce Carol Oates Prize, administered by the New Literary Project and named after the prolific writer, is given “an author who has published at least two notable books of fiction, and who has yet to receive capstone recognition such as a Pulitzer or a MacArthur.”
It was first awarded in 2017. Previous winners include Laila Lalami, Lauren Groff, and Manuel Muñoz. The recipient of this year’s prize will be announced next month.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
