Congratulations to our 2016 5 Under 35 honorees!

The National Book Foundation has announced its 2016 5 Under 35 honorees with an exclusive with the Los Angeles Times. 5 Under 35, now in its eleventh year, honors five debut fiction writers under the age of 35 whose work promises to leave a lasting impression on the literary landscape. Each year, 5 Under 35 honorees are selected by National Book Award Winners and Finalists, as well as by writers previously recognized by the 5 Under 35 program.

• Brit Bennett, author of The Mothers (Riverhead / Penguin Random House)
  Selected by Jacqueline Woodson, 2014 National Book Award Winner for Young People’s Literature and longlisted for the 2016 National Book Award for Fiction
• Yaa Gyasi, author of Homegoing (Knopf / Penguin Random House)
  Selected by Ta-Nehisi Coates, 2015 National Book Award Winner for Nonfiction
• Greg Jackson, author of Prodigals (Farrar, Straus & Giroux / Macmillan)
  Selected by Lauren Groff, 2015 National Book Award Finalist for Fiction
• S. Li, author of Transoceanic Lights (Harvard Square Editions)
  Selected by Karen Bender, 2015 National Book Award Finalist for Fiction
• Thomas Pierce, author of Hall of Small Mammals (Riverhead / Penguin Random House)
  Selected by Amity Gaige, 2006 5 Under 35 honoree