The William Saroyan International Prize for Writing is a biennial literary award for fiction and nonfiction in the spirit of William Saroyan by emerging writers. It was established by Stanford University Libraries and the William Saroyan Foundation to "encourage new or emerging writers rather than recognize established literary figures;" the prize being $12,500.
The Saroyan Prize was first awarded in 2003 for "newly published works of fiction including novels, short stories, dramas or memoirs." Starting with the second round of awards in 2005, separate awards have been given for fiction and nonfiction. With the exception of a three year gap between the second and third rounds of awards, the prize has been awarded every two years since it was established.
Winners and finalists
2003 : Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer (winner) The Impressionist by Hari Kunzru Nocturne by Adam Rapp 2005 Fiction: The Laments by George Hagen (winner) Bloodvine by Aris Janigian The Calligrapher by Edward Docx How to Breathe Underwater by Julie Orringer 2005 Non-fiction: The King of California by Mark Arax and Rick Wartzman (winner) Chasing the Sea by Tom Bissell The Children's Blizzard by David Laskin 2008 Fiction: The History of Love by Nicole Krauss (winner) The Understory by Pamela Erens Dead Boys by Richard Lange 2008 Non-fiction: Dandelion Through the Crack by Kiyo Sato (winner) Ticket to Exile: A Memoir by Adam David Miller Return of the Condor by John Moir 2010 Fiction: Atmospheric Disturbances by Rivka Galchen (winner) apologize, apologize! by Elizabeth Kelly Concord, Virginia by Peter Neofotis 2010 Non-fiction: The King of Vodka by Linda Himelstein (winner) Trauma Farm by Brian Brett Aesop's Mirror by Maryalice Huggins 2012 Fiction Orientation and Other Stories by Daniel Orozco (winner) Leaving the Atocha Station by Ben Lerner East of the West: A Country in Stories by Miroslav Penkov 2012 Non-fiction The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey (winner) Solacers by Arion Golmakani Pulphead by John Jeremiah Sullivan 2014 Fiction Long Division by Kiese Laymon (winner) The Facades by Eric Lundgren A Marker to Measure Drift by Alexander Maksik 2014 Non-fiction The Riddle of the Labyrinth by Margalit Fox (winner) The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown 2016 Fiction Welcome to Braggsville by T. Geronimo Johnson (winner) Now We Will Be Happy by Amina Gautier Counternarratives by John Keene 2016 Non-fiction Belief is its Own Kind of Truth, Maybe by Lori Jakiela (winner) Russian Tattoo by Elena Gorokhova Nagasaki: Life After Nuclear War by Susan Southard 2018 Fiction In the Distance by Hernan Diaz (winner) The Traders by Scott Shibuya Brown Lucky Boy by Shanthi Sekaran 2018 Non-fiction On Trails: an Exploration by Robert Moor (winner) Riverine: a Memoir from Anywhere but Here by Angela Palm Shakespeare in Swahililand: Adventures with the Ever-living Poet by Edward Wilson-Lee 2020 Fiction Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah (winner) The Hundred Wells of Salaga by Ayesha Harruna Attah Some Trick: Thirteen Stories by Helen DeWitt 2020 Non-fiction Homesick: a Memoir by Jennifer Croft (winner) How to Write an Autobiographical Novel: Essays by Alexander Chee In the Dream House: a Memoir by Carmen Maria Machado