The O. Henry Award is an annual American award given to

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

of exceptional merit. The award is named after the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

short-story writer

O. Henry William Sydney Porter (September 11, 1862 – June 5, 1910), better known by his pen name O. Henry, was an American writer known primarily for his short stories, though he also wrote poetry and non-fiction. His works include "The Gift of the ...

. The ''PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories'' is an annual collection of the year's twenty best stories published in U.S. and

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

magazines. Until 2002 there were first, second, and third prize winners and from 2003–2019 there were three jurors who each selected a short story of special interest or merit; the collection is called ''The PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories'', and the original collection was called ''Prize Stories 1919: The O. Henry Memorial Awards''.

History and format

The award was first presented in 1919 and funded by the Society of Arts and Sciences. As of 2021, the guest editor chooses twenty short stories, each an O. Henry Prize story. All stories published in an American or Canadian periodical are eligible for consideration, including stories that have been translated into English. The goal of ''The O. Henry Prize Stories'' remains to strengthen the art of the short story. The current series

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, or ...

for ''The O. Henry Prize Stories'' is Jenny Minton Quigley. Past series editors have been:

Blanche Colton Williams Blanche Colton Williams (February 10, 1879 – August 9, 1944) was an American author, editor, department head and professor of English literature, and pioneer in women’s higher education. She was known for her “groundbreaking work on str ...

(1919–32), Harry Hansen (1933–40), Herschel Brickell (1941–51), Paul Engle (1954–59), Mary Stegner (1960), Richard Poirier (1961–66, assisted by William S. Abrahams, 1964–66), William Abrahams (1967–96), Larry Dark (1997–2002) and Laura Furman (2003–2019). There were no volumes of the series in 1952 and 1953 (due to Herschel Brickell's death), 2004 and 2020.

Partnership with PEN American Center

In 2009 ''The O. Henry Prize Stories'' publisher, Anchor Books, renamed the series in partnership with the PEN American Center (today

PEN America PEN America (formerly PEN American Center), founded in 1922 and headquartered in New York City, is a nonprofit organization that works to defend and celebrate free expression in the United States and worldwide through the advancement of lite ...

), producing the first ''PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories'' collection. Proceeds from the ''PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories 2009'' would be directed to PEN's Readers & Writers Program, which sends well-known authors to under served inner-city schools. The selection included stories by Graham Joyce, John Burnside, Roger Nash, Manuel Muñoz,

Ha Jin Jin Xuefei (; born February 21, 1956) is a Chinese-American poet and novelist using the pen name Ha Jin (). ''Ha'' comes from his favorite city, Harbin. His poetry is associated with the Misty Poetry movement. Early life Ha Jin was born i ...

Paul Theroux Paul Edward Theroux (born April 10, 1941) is an American novelist and travel writer who has written numerous books, including the travelogue, ''The Great Railway Bazaar'' (1975). Some of his works of fiction have been adapted as feature films. He ...

, Judy Troy,

Nadine Gordimer Nadine Gordimer (20 November 192313 July 2014) was a South African writer and political activist. She received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1991, recognized as a writer "who through her magnificent epic writing has ... been of very great b ...

, Marisa Silver, Paul Yoon,

Andrew Sean Greer Andrew Sean Greer (born November 1970) is an American novelist and short story writer. Greer received the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his novel '' Less''. He is the author of ''The Story of a Marriage'', which ''The New York Times'' has ...

, and

Junot Díaz Junot Díaz (; born December 31, 1968) is a Dominican-American writer, creative writing professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and was fiction editor at '' Boston Review''. He also serves on the board of advisers for Freed ...

, with

A. S. Byatt Dame Antonia Susan Duffy ( Drabble; born 24 August 1936), known professionally by her former marriage name as A. S. Byatt ( ), is an English critic, novelist, poet and short story writer. Her books have been widely translated, into more than t ...

, Tim O'Brien and

Anthony Doerr Anthony Doerr (born October 27, 1973) is an American author of novels and short stories. He gained widespread recognition for his 2014 novel '' All the Light We Cannot See'', which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Early life and education Rai ...

– all authors of past O. Henry Prize Stories – serving as the prize jury. In an interview for the

Vintage Books Vintage Books is a trade paperback publishing imprint of Penguin Random House originally established by Alfred A. Knopf in 1954. The company was purchased by Random House in April 1960, and a British division was set up in 1990. After Random Ho ...

and Anchor Books blog, editor Laura Furman called the collaboration with PEN a "natural partnership."

Guest editor (2021–), Juror favorites (2003–2019), First-prize winners (1919–2002)

Source: The O. Henry Prize Stories past winners.

References

External links

*
O. Henry Prize, PEN Announce Partnership

2009 PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories

at

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

(via Archive.org)
Past winners (by date, 1919–1999)
at

's ''Bold Type'' (via Archive.org)
Compilations by year
{{O. Henry PEN America awards Awards established in 1919 1919 establishments in the United States * Short story awards

History and format

Partnership with PEN American Center

Guest editor (2021–), Juror favorites (2003–2019), First-prize winners (1919–2002)

See also

References

External links