The Sargent Prize

The third annual John Sargent, Sr. First Novel Prize was created in 2006 to honor the best first novel of the year and carries with it a $10,000 prize.

The shortlist for the award has just been announced and the prize will be given at the Mercantile Library Center for Fiction’s Annual Benefit and Awards Dinner in the fall:

Atmospheric Disturbances by Rivka Galchen
Dervishes by Beth Helms
The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti
Personal Days by Ed Park
Songs for the Butcher's Daughter by Peter Manseau
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
The Story of Forgetting by Stefan Merrill Block

The Sargent Prize was created by the Center as part of its mission to promote the art of fiction in the United States. It is supported by members of the Sargent family, in recognition of John Sargent, Sr.’s lifetime of reading and distinguished work as President and CEO of Doubleday and Company.

The winner in 2007 was Junot Diaz.