Medal for Editorial Excellence
The Center for Fiction Medal for Editorial Excellence honors the work of an editor, publisher, or agent who over the course of his or her career has discovered, nurtured and championed writers of fiction in the United States.
The final selection is made by a panel of publishing professionals convened by The Center. The award is intended to provide a means by which the literary world can each year acknowledge the critical role played by agents, editors, and publishers and reward their outstanding work.
2022 Recipient: Sarah McGrath
Sarah McGrath, Editor-in-Chief of Riverhead Books, received The Center for Fiction 2022 Medal for Editorial Excellence. New York Times bestselling author Brit Bennett presented the award to McGrath at The Center for Fiction Annual Awards Benefit on December 6th, 2022.
2021 Recipient: Alvina Ling
Alvina Ling, Vice President and Editor-in-Chief at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, received The Center for Fiction 2021 Medal for Editorial Excellence. Board Member Jacqueline Woodson introduced the award, the first ever to have been awarded to an editor of young people’s literature, at The Center for Fiction Annual Awards Benefit & 200th Anniversary Celebration on December 7th, 2021. Children’s book author and illustrator Grace Lin presented the award to Ling.
2020 RECIPIENT: Chris Jackson
Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Chris Jackson of One World, an imprint of Penguin Random House, is the recipient of the 2020 Center for Fiction Medal for Editorial Excellence, presented by Ta-Nehisi Coates, National Book Award and MacArthur Fellowship-winning author of the best sellers Between the World and Me and the widely acclaimed debut novel The Water Dancer. Jackson is the editor of award-winning and bestselling authors, including Coates, Jordy Rosenberg, Kali Fajardo-Astine, Maurice Carlos Ruffin, Victor LaValle, Bryan Stevenson, Jill Leovy, Trevor Noah, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Ibram X. Kendi, Valarie Kaur, and Eddie Huang.
All Recipients
Learn about Sarah McGrath, Alvina Ling, Chris Jackson, Lynn Nesbit, Sonny Mehta, Morgan Entrekin, Eric Simonoff, Daniel Halpern, Nicole Aragi, and other recipients of this award.