NEW YORK CITY — In a glittering celebration held tonight in New York City, Kirkus Reviews revealed the winners of the 13th annual Kirkus Prize, distributing $50,000 to each of the authors behind three works of exceptional literary merit. The prestigious awards span three distinct categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, and Young Readers’ Literature.
The victorious titles were selected from an exceptionally competitive pool of books that earned a coveted Kirkus star over the past year. To secure a nomination, these works had to stand out among thousands of critically acclaimed releases, including 3,584 fiction titles, 2,806 nonfiction titles, and 3,936 young readers’ titles evaluated by the publication’s editorial and reviewing staff.
Tom Beer, the editor-in-chief of Kirkus Reviews, reflected on the triumph of the winning selections in a formal statement released during the ceremony. "Readers can rejoice over the winners of this year’s Kirkus Prize; these are remarkably accomplished works of fiction and nonfiction that nevertheless wear their accomplishments lightly," Beer said. "Above all, they are unforgettable books that will engage and transform all who enter their pages."
The announcement marks another milestone for the Kirkus Prize, which has grown over the past decade to become one of the most lucrative and closely watched annual literary awards in the publishing industry. By honoring both established literary voices and rigorous investigative journalism, the prize continues to highlight works that resonate deeply with contemporary audiences while maintaining the highest standards of artistic and intellectual rigor.
Here are the winners and finalists across the three categories:
Fiction
The winner of the 2026 Kirkus Prize in Fiction is Tayari Jones for her powerful novel Kin, published by Alfred A. Knopf.
In Kin, Jones introduces readers to Niecy and Annie, who are described in the official citation as "cradle friends." Born in small-town Louisiana in the 1950s, the two women share an unhappy bond, having both suffered the early loss of their mothers. In a powerfully compelling novel that brims with the cadences of the Black South, Jones explores the diverging lives of her protagonists while using them as a lens to observe social injustice. She executes this narrative vision through language that is intimate, conversational, and musical.
Jones claimed the prize over a formidable roster of fiction finalists. The other shortlisted works for 2026 included Daniyal Mueenuddin for This Is Where the Serpent Lives, published by Knopf; Brenda Navarro for Eating Ashes, translated from the Spanish by Megan McDowell and published by Liveright/Norton; Julie Orringer for Luna, Phoenix, Queen, published by Knopf; Douglas Stuart for John of John, published by Grove; and Colson Whitehead for Cool Machine, published by Doubleday.
The rigorous selection process for the fiction category was overseen by a panel of expert jurors. The jurors for the 2026 Kirkus Prize in Fiction were Kimberly Brock, adult book buyer at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Cincinnati; Karen R. Long, a Kirkus reviewer and former manager of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards; and Laurie Muchnick, the fiction editor at Kirkus Reviews.
Nonfiction
In the Nonfiction category, the top honor was awarded to Pamela Colloff for Catch the Devil: A True Story of Murder, Deception, and Injustice on the Gulf Coast, published by Knopf.
Colloff’s taut and engrossing investigation revisits the events of 1987, when Jim Dailey was convicted of the brutal murder of a 14-year-old girl named Shelly Boggio. As Colloff reveals through meticulous reporting, a scheming jailhouse snitch’s testimony was largely responsible for putting Dailey on death row for decades. Even more damning, however, is Colloff’s exposure of a criminal justice system that is all too happy to look the other way when cutting procedural deals that can have devastating, irreversible consequences.
The nonfiction category featured a deeply competitive shortlist addressing urgent historical, social, and personal matters. The finalists included Ada Ferrer for Keeper of My Kin: Memoir of an Immigrant Daughter, published by Scribner; Patrick Radden Keefe for London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family’s Search for Truth, published by Doubleday; Loubna Mrie for Defiance: A Memoir of Awakening, Rebellion, and Survival in Syria, published by Viking; Gisèle Pelicot with Judith Perrignon, translated by Natasha Lehrer and Ruth Diver, for A Hymn to Life: Shame Has To Change Sides, published by Penguin Press; and Michael Pollan for A World Appears: A Journey Into Consciousness, also published by Penguin Press.
The jurors responsible for evaluating the nonfiction entries and selecting the winner were Bonnie Tsui, an award-winning journalist and author of On Muscle and other acclaimed books; Nora Krug, a writer and former editor at the Washington Post Book World; and John McMurtrie, the nonfiction editor at Kirkus Reviews.
Young Readers’ Literature
The Kirkus Prize in Young Readers’ Literature was awarded to Elizabeth Acevedo for her resonant work Anger Is Only a Shadow, published by Quill Tree Books and an imprint of HarperCollins.
Acevedo’s narrative centers on Liliana, a teenager who never meant to get in trouble again, but finds herself awaiting trial while wearing an ankle monitor. As the mental health of her brother, Aldwin, deteriorates, Lil considers risking her own future to travel to him. The book is written in nuanced, evocative verse that paints a clear-eyed, profoundly loving portrait of a young person navigating the intense complexities of growing up. According to the award citation, Acevedo’s cast of fully rounded, compassionately drawn characters will live on in the hearts of readers long after they turn the final page.
The young readers’ category highlighted exceptional storytelling across verse, prose, and illustrated formats. The finalists for the 2026 prize included Julie Leung, illustrated by Angie Kang, for Navigating Night, published by Anne Schwartz Books/Random House; Karthika Naïr, illustrated by Joëlle Jolivet, for Electric Birds of Pothakudi, published by Tate Publishing; Matthew Fox for The Lovely Dark, published by Union Square Kids; Daniel Nayeri for This Is a Door, published by Stonefruit Studio/Sourcebooks; and Blessing Musariri for When It’s Your Turn for Midnight, published by Carolrhoda Lab.
The evaluation of the young readers’ literature submissions was conducted by a distinguished panel of judges. The jurors for the 2026 prize were Sarah Park Dahlen, associate professor at the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a board member of the International Research Society for Children’s Literature; Leah Johnson, author of You Should See Me in a Crown and other books, as well as the owner of Loudmouth Books in Indianapolis; and Mahnaz Dar and Laura Simeon, young readers’ editors at Kirkus Reviews.
