THE MARK TWAIN HOUSE & MUSEUM ANNOUNCES 2025 SHORTLIST FOR THE AMERICAN VOICE IN LITERATURE AWARD
August 20, 2025, Hartford, CT — The Mark Twain House & Museum is proud to announce the 2025 Shortlist for the Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award (Mark Twain Award), one of the nation’s leading literary prizes.
Established in 2016 with the generous sponsorship of acclaimed novelist and Museum Board member David Baldacci, the Award honors distinguished fiction that speaks with an American voice and tells a uniquely American story. The Mark Twain Award seeks to preserve the searching, challenging spirit of Mark Twain’s way of looking at the world. The prize is awarded annually to a work of fiction published in the previous calendar year and carries a $25,000 cash award.
This year’s judging panel includes two National Book Award–winning writers, Phil Klay and Alice McDermott, the latter last year’s Mark Twain Award winner for her novel Absolution. Submissions are accepted from a wide range of publishers and narrowed down through a unique two-step process. Nearly 500 at-large readers selected the 30-book Longlist from over 150 entries, and the judges have now chosen the following ten titles for the 2025 Shortlist:
• Dixon, Descending by Karen Outen (Dutton)
• Fire Exit by Morgan Talty (Tin House)
• Godwin by Joseph O’Neill (Pantheon)
• Headshot by Rita Bullwinkel (Viking)
• James by Percival Everett (Doubleday)
• Malas by Marcela Fuentes (Viking)
• Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe (Morrow)
• On the Tobacco Coast by Christopher Tilghman (FSG)
• Out of the Rain by J. Malcolm Garcia (Seven Stories Press)
• The History of Sound by Ben Shattuck (Viking)
“This is a strong list any way you look at it,” said Rand Richards Cooper, Chair of the judging panel and Museum Board member. “It represents a wide range of voices, regions, and subjects, providing provocative and fascinating views of the American experience.”
The Finalists will be announced in September, and the Winner will be celebrated at a dinner at The Mark Twain House & Museum on Friday, November 7, 2025.
For more information, visit marktwainhouse.org and stay tuned for the launch of a dedicated website for the Award at www.marktwainaward.org.
Shortlist 2025
Dixon, Descending by Karen Outen (Dutton)
Fire Exit by Morgan Talty (Tin House)
Godwin by Joseph O’Neill (Pantheon)
Headshot by Rita Bullwinkel (Viking)
James by Percival Everett (Doubleday)
Malas by Marcela Fuentes (Viking)
Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe (Morrow)
On the Tobacco Coast by Christopher Tilghman (FSG)
Out of the Rain by J. Malcolm Garcia (Seven Stories Press)
The History of Sound by Ben Shattuck (Viking)
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About The Mark Twain House & Museum
The Mark Twain House & Museum is the restored Hartford, Connecticut home where Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, lived from 1874 to 1891. Twain wrote many of his most iconic works there, including Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. The museum continues to honor Twain’s literary legacy through tours, educational programs, and cultural events.
For general information about the Mark Twain House, please visit:
Media Contact:
Albinko Hasic
albinko.hasic@marktwainhouse.org
(860) 280-3152