The 2024 Kirkus Prize Winner and Finalists for Fiction

What do authors Hernan Diaz (Trust), Colson Whitehead (The Nickel Boys) and Ta-Nehisi Coates (Between the World and Me) have in common? They're all previous winners of the Kirkus Prize, whose impressive $50,000 purse makes it one of the literature world's richest awards. The jurors, a distinguished panel of critics and authors, just announced the winner for the 11th annual edition: James by Percival Everett. Here are all six books that made the cut for the 2024 Kirkus Prize in Fiction, along with a quote from their starred Kirkus Review!

6 books

WINNER of the 2024 Kirkus Prize for Fiction

James (Pulitzer Prize Winner)

Percival Everett

“Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as told from the perspective of a more resourceful and contemplative Jim than the one you remember...One of the noblest characters in American literature gets a novel worthy of him.” - Kirkus Review

Barack Obama & Ron Charles

Hardcover, 2024

$28.00$14.00 + Free shipping50% off your first book

Finalist

The Mighty Red

Louise Erdrich

“The Red River of the North cuts a vivid track through the hardscrabble lives that anchor Erdrich’s surpassing North Dakota fiction...In this tender and capacious story, love and tragedy mingle along the river and into the world.” - Kirkus Review

Ron Charles & Rumaan Alam

Hardcover, 2024

$32.00$16.00 + Free shipping50% off your first book

Finalist

Margo's Got Money Troubles

Rufi Thorpe

“A college freshman finds out that everyone was right: Her decision to have her English professor’s baby really does ruin her life. Until it doesn’t....Terrific characters, rich worldbuilding, deep thoughts about fiction and morality, a love story, and a happy ending.” - Kirkus Review.

KJ Dell'Antonia & MJ Franklin

Hardcover, 2024

$28.00$14.00 + Free shipping50% off your first book

Finalist

Prophet Song: A Novel (Booker Prize Winner)

Paul Lynch

“As Ireland devolves into a brutal police state, one woman tries to preserve her family in this stark fable...Captivating, frightening, and a singular achievement.” - Kirkus Review