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New York, NY (April 8, 2026) – The National Book Foundation today announced its annual 5 Under 35 honorees, a selection of five fiction writers under the age of 35 whose debut work promises to leave a lasting impression on the literary landscape. This year’s honorees were selected by a slate of five writers previously honored by the National Book Foundation, also announced today. Honorees are writers who have published their first and only book of fiction—a short story collection or novel—within the last five years. The National Book Foundation’s 5 Under 35 program is sponsored by the Amazon Literary Partnership, and each honoree receives a $1,250 prize.
“For over 20 years we have delighted in honoring talented new writers whose debut work reveals their tremendous promise in the world of literary fiction,” said David Steinberger, Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Book Foundation. “The 5 Under 35 prize is central to the Foundation’s mission to celebrate the best literature published in the United States, connect books with readers of all ages, and champion the literary arts as a vital part of our culture. And as we welcome these promising writers into the fold, we look forward to championing their debuts and following their writing careers in the years to come.”
The 2026 5 Under 35 honorees’ work has been honored by the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, the Elliot Cades Award for Literature from the Hawaiʻi Literary Arts Council, the Keene Prize in Literature, the PEN/Faulkner Award, the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel, and The Story Prize, among others. Their writing has appeared in Granta, The Guardian, Interview Magazine, New England Review, One Story, the New York Times, The Sewanee Review, TriQuarterly, and elsewhere.
This year’s selections include two short story collections and three novels—all authored by women—that consider desire and intimacy, art-making, and the people and places that shape us. Megan Kamalei Kakimoto’s story collection Every Drop Is a Man’s Nightmare is a fierce love letter to Hawaiʻi’s myths and folklore, which centers the inner lives of Native Hawaiian and Japanese women and girls. Anika Jade Levy’s Flat Earth follows a New York City graduate student desperate to create a life for herself as a writer while navigating female friendships, modern dating culture, and leaps to make a name for one’s self. Through 11 short stories set across the American South, Carrie R. Moore’s Make Your Way Home depicts the lives of Black communities reckoning with a deep and complicated love for places with violent pasts and presents. In Maggie Su’s Blob: A Love Story, a Taiwanese American woman discovers a sentient blob during a night out and is determined to shape it into her ideal partner in this meditation on identity, self-discovery, and love. Lonely Crowds by Stephanie Wambugu follows two childhood friends into their early adulthood as emerging artists as they negotiate the complexities of race, class, and ambition and what, if anything, they might be willing to give up in the name of friendship.
The 2026 5 Under 35 selectors are 2024 National Book Award Finalist Kaveh Akbar, 2011 5 Under 35 Honoree Danielle Evans, 2019 National Book Award Finalist Kali Fajardo-Anstine, 2018 National Book Award Winner Sigrid Nunez, and 2020 National Book Award Winner and 2007 5 Under 35 Honoree Charles Yu. Their decisions are made independently of the National Book Foundation staff and Board of Directors.
“Each year, 5 Under 35 invites us to celebrate tremendous literary talents whose debut novels and story collections deserve our attention,” said Ruth Dickey, Executive Director of the National Book Foundation. “We are grateful to our expert selectors who each read widely and deeply to shine a spotlight on five talented young writers. It is an honor to welcome these gifted storytellers into the National Book Foundation family, share their work with readers around the globe, and support the beginning of their long literary careers.”
The honorees will be celebrated at the 2026 5 Under 35 Ceremony on Tuesday, June 9 at 7:00pm EDT at Littlefield in Brooklyn, NY, and livestreamed for readers everywhere. The evening will be hosted by 2023 National Book Award Finalist and 2018 5 Under 35 honoree Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, include introductions by the honorees’ selectors, and feature readings from each of the honorees. The event is open to the public and is 21+; tickets are available for purchase on Littlefield’s website. Books will be for sale on site thanks to Books Are Magic.
Previous 5 Under 35 honorees include Lesley Nneka Arimah, Caleb Azumah Nelson, K-Ming Chang, Anelise Chen, Naima Coster, Danielle Evans, Yaa Gyasi, Isabella Hammad, Lydia Kiesling, Raven Leilani, Johannes Lichtman, Valeria Luiselli, Fatima Farheen Mirza, Kirstin Valdez Quade, Karen Russell, Claire Vaye Watkins, Bryan Washington, Ashley Wurzbacher, Tiphanie Yanique, and C Pam Zhang; National Book Award Longlisters Molly Antopol and Brit Bennett; National Book Award Finalists Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Akwaeke Emezi, Angela Flournoy, and Téa Obreht; 2014 National Book Award Winner Phil Klay; 2020 National Book Award Winner Charles Yu; and 2023 National Book Award Winner Justin Torres.
Megan Kamalei Kakimoto, Every Drop Is a Man’s Nightmare
Bloomsbury Publishing
Selected by Kali Fajardo-Anstine, 2019 National Book Award Finalist
Anika Jade Levy, Flat Earth
Catapult
Selected by Sigrid Nunez, 2018 National Book Award Winner
Carrie R. Moore, Make Your Way Home
Tin House Books
Selected by Danielle Evans, 2011 5 Under 35 Honoree
Maggie Su, Blob: A Love Story
Harper / HarperCollins Publishers
Selected by Charles Yu, 2020 National Book Award Winner and 2007 5 Under 35 Honoree
Stephanie Wambugu, Lonely Crowds
Little, Brown and Company / Hachette Book Group
Selected by Kaveh Akbar, 2024 National Book Award Finalist
