The New York Public Library Announces the Finalists for the 2023 Young Lions Fiction Award

April 19, 2023 —The New York Public Library is excited to announce the finalists for the twenty-third annual Young Lions Fiction Award, honoring the work of several brilliant young authors. The finalists are:

• Fatimah Asghar for When We Were Sisters;
• Elaine Hsieh Chou for Disorientation; 
• Zain Khalid for Brother Alive;
• Reyes Ramirez for The Book of Wanderers;
• David Sanchez for All Day is a Long Time. 

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 Jessamine Chan, Claire Luchette, and last year’s winner, Kalani Pickhart. 

The winner will be announced during an Award Ceremony on June 15 at 7 PM in the Celeste Bartos Forum of the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building presented in part by Stoli and underwritten in part by Apartment 3C Productions. For more details about the Young Lions Fiction Award and the Young Lions visit nypl.org/yl. 

Past winners of the Young Lions Fiction Award include:

Last year’s winner Kalani Pickhart, I Will Die in a Foreign Land; Catherine Lacey, Pew; Bryan Washington, Lot; Ling Ma, Severance. Past nominees have included: Alexanda Kleeman, Something New Under the Sun; Brandon Taylor, Real Life; Kiley Reid, Such a Fun Age; Brit Bennett, The Mothers; Jesmyn Ward, Salvage the Bones; C Pam Zhang, How Much of These Hills is Gold; and Julia Phillips, 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.

About the Young Lions

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 212-930-0519.

About The New York Public Library

For over 125 years, The New York Public Library has been a free provider of education and information for the people of New York and beyond. With over 90 locations—including research and branch libraries—throughout the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island, the Library offers free materials, computer access, classes, exhibitions, programming and more to everyone from toddlers to scholars. The New York Public Library receives approximately 16 million visits through its doors annually and millions more around the globe who use its resources at www.nypl.org. To offer this wide array of free programming, The New York Public Library relies on both public and private funding. Learn more about how to support the Library at nypl.org/support.