Bryan Washington Wins The New York Public Library’s 2020 Young Lions Fiction Award
Sept 17, 2020 —The New York Public Library is proud to announce that Bryan Washington has won the twentieth annual Young Lions Fiction Award for his book Lot. This year’s finalists were:
- Steph Cha, Your House Will Pay
- Julia Phillips, Disappearing Earth
- Kiley Reid, Such a Fun Age
- Xuan Juliana Wang, Home Remedies
- Bryan Washington, Lot
The winner was announced during an online event on Thursday, September 17. For more details about the Fiction Award and the Young Lions visit nypl.org/ylfa
Debuting in 2001, the Young Lions Fiction Award is given each year to an American writer age 35 or younger for either a novel or a collection of short stories. Five young fiction writers are selected as finalists by a committee of writers, editors, and librarians. A panel of award judges select the winner of the $10,000 prize. This year’s judges included 2019 Fiction Award winner Ling Ma; 2019/2020 Cullman Fellow at the NYPL’s Center for Scholars and Writers, fiction writer Mitchell Jackson; and esteemed actor and Fiction Award co-founder Ethan Hawke.
"As a kid, I went to the library every weekend. It was how I learned English, and how I realized the possibility of alternative worlds. The library was so essential to me that my first job in high school was shelving books at one, partly because I loved being around its culture and community. It was an honor to be awarded the NYPL Young Lions Fiction Award, which year after year has selected my favorite writers among its slate of finalists," said Ling Ma, last year’s winner and a judge for the 2020 award.
Past winners of the Young Lions Fiction Award include:
Last year’s winner Ling Ma, Severance; Colson Whitehead, John Henry Days; Anthony Doerr, The Shell Collector; Monique Truong, The Book of Salt; and Uzodinma Iweala, Beasts of No Nation. Past nominees have included: Brit Bennett, The Mothers; Ander Monson, Other Electricities; Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Friday Black; Nicole Dennis-Benn, Here Comes the Sun; and Andrew Ladd, What Ends.
The New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award was founded by Ethan Hawke, Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, Rick Moody, and Hannah McFarland. The Award is made possible by an endowment created with generous gifts from Russell Abrams, Nina Collins, Hannah and Gavin McFarland, Ethan Hawke, Stephan Loewentheil, Rick Moody, Andrea Olshan, and Jennifer Rudolph Walsh.
Press Contact: Bobby Sherwood, robertsherwood@nypl.org
About the Young Lions
The Young Lions is a membership group for New Yorkers in their 20s and 30s who are committed to supporting the work of the Library. Each season, members enjoy exclusive events that feature writers and leaders in the arts, politics, business, law, and the media. Through presenting dynamic events and contributing to the General Book Fund, the Young Lions are integral to the life of the Library and its future. Information about the Young Lions group is available online at www.nypl.org/joinyl or by phone 212-930-0885.
About The New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is a free provider of education and information for the people of New York and beyond. With 92 locations—including research and branch libraries—throughout the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island, the Library offers free materials, computer access, classes, exhibitions, programming and more to everyone from toddlers to scholars, and has seen record numbers of attendance and circulation in recent years. The New York Public Library serves more than 18 million patrons who come through its doors annually and millions more around the globe who use its resources at www.nypl.org. To offer this wide array of free programming, The New York Public Library relies on both public and private funding. Learn more about how to support the Library at nypl.org/support.