Literary fiction can have power—to change hearts and minds, to engage readers with the world around them, to offer up unforgettable stories that allow us to learn and to empathize. These are among the many reasons Algonquin Books is so proud to publish and celebrate the winners of the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction.

You will find so much to think and talk about with these page-turning reads!

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2021 Winner Announced

Congratulations to Jamila Minnicks Gleason, the newest winner of the PEN/Bellwether Prize! Stay tuned for more about her upcoming novel, Hydrangeas of New Jessup. This story of Alice Young and Raymond Campbell, who fall in love in 1957 in Alabama, explores the gains and losses, risks and fears of Black families amidst the Civil Rights Movement.

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