We’re proud to share that two Penguin Random House novels have been named finalists for this year’s PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel: THE CORRESPONDENT (Crown) by Virginia Evans and AWAKE IN THE FLOATING CITY (Pantheon) by Susanna Kwan.
Selected by judges Rachel Beanland, Dionne Irving, and Taymour Soomro, this year’s finalists were chosen from 146 eligible novels by American authors published in the United States during the 2025 calendar year. Since 1976, the PEN/Hemingway Award has honored a debut novel of exceptional merit by an author who has not previously published a full-length work of fiction. The purpose of the award is to champion new voices of promise entering the literary landscape.