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First Novel Prize

2020 First Novel Prize

The Center for Fiction

The Center for Fiction 2020 First Novel Prize was awarded to Raven Leilani for her debut novel Luster (Farrar, Straus and Giroux / Macmillan). The award was announced at The Center for Fiction Annual Awards Benefit on December 3, 2020. 2019 winner, De’Shawn Charles Winslow (In West Mills), presented Leilani with the award, which was selected by a panel of distinguished American writers: Stefan Merrill Block, Halle Butler, Jenny Offill, and De’Shawn Charles Winslow. Read about Luster and the shortlisted and longlisted titles from 2020 below.