Announcing the 2024 Young Lions Fiction Award Finalists

The New York Public Library is excited to announce the finalists for the 24th annual Young Lions Fiction Award, honoring the works of five talented young authors. The finalists are:

The winner will be announced during an Award Ceremony on June 13 at 7 PM in the Celeste Bartos Forum of the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building. For more details about the Young Lions Fiction Award and the Young Lions visit nypl.org/yl. 

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Making its debut in 2001, the Young Lions Fiction Award is given each year to an American writer age 35 or younger for either a novel or a collection of short stories. Five young fiction writers are selected as finalists by a committee of writers, editors, and librarians. A panel of award judges will select the winner of this year’s $10,000 prize. This year’s judges are A. M. Homes, Caoilinn Hughes, and last year’s winner, Zain Khalid.

Past winners of the Young Lions Fiction Award include last year’s winner Zain Khalid for Brother Alive; Kalani Pickhart for I Will Die in a Foreign Land; Catherine Lacey for Pew; Bryan Washington for Lot; Ling Ma for Severance. Past nominees have included Alexanda Kleeman for Something New Under the Sun; Brandon Taylor for Real Life; Kiley Reid for Such a Fun Age; Brit Bennett for The Mothers; Jesmyn Ward for Salvage the Bones; Teju Cole for Open City; and Julia Phillips for Disappearing Earth.

The New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award was founded by Ethan Hawke, Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, Rick Moody, and Hannah McFarland. The Award is made possible by an endowment created with generous gifts from Russell Abrams, Nina Collins, Hannah and Gavin McFarland, Ethan Hawke, Stephan Loewentheil, Rick Moody, Andrea Olshan and Jennifer Rudolph Walsh.

The Young Lions is a membership group for New Yorkers in their 20s and 30s who are committed to supporting the work of the Library. Each season, members enjoy exclusive events that feature writers and leaders in the arts, politics, business, law, and the media. Through presenting dynamic events and contributing to the General Book Fund, the Young Lions are integral to the life of the Library and its future. Information about the Young Lions group is available online at www.nypl.org/joinyl or by phone 212-930-0968.

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