THE 20TH WINNER OF THE STORY PRIZE IS
THE HIVE AND THE HONEY BY PAUL YOON

As announced at a private event that was broadcast live, the winner of The Story Prize for books published in 2023 is Paul Yoon for The Hive and the Honey (Marysue Rucci Books). The other finalists were Yiyun Li for Wednesday’s Child (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) and Bennett Sims for Other Minds and Other Stories (Two Dollar Radio). The Story Prize’s $20,000 top prize is among the largest first-prize amounts of any annual U.S. book award for fiction. As runners-up, Li and Sims each received $5,000. The evening began with the showing of a short video featuring highlights from the first 19 years of the award.

The Hive and the Honey, is Yoon’s fifth book of fiction and his third short story collection. The judges cited the book for its widely varied settings, skillful prose, profundity, and restrained but poignantly evocative tone

Director Larry Dark and Founder Julie Lindsey selected the three finalists for The Story Prize, now in its 20th year, from among 113 short story collections published in 2023, representing 84 different publishers or imprints. Three judges—critic and writer Merve Emre; librarian Allison Escoto, and writer Tania James—determined the winner from among the three books chosen as finalists.

Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of The Story Prize

About The Story Prize

Past winners have been Edwidge Danticat, Patrick O'Keeffe, Mary Gordon, Jim Shepard, Tobias Wolff, Daniyal Mueenuddin, Anthony Doerr, Steven Millhauser, Claire Vaye Watkins, George Saunders, Elizabeth McCracken, Adam Johnson, Rick Bass, Elizabeth Strout, Lauren Groff, Edwidge Danticat (a second time), Deesha Philyaw, Brandon Taylor, and, most recently, Ling Ma.

The deadlines for submitting 2024 books are July 1 for books published in the first half of the year and Nov. 15 for books published in the second half. You can find a list of short story collections submitted for The Story Prize in 2023 at Bookshop.org.

The Story Prize is a $20,000 book prize awarded to the author of the short story collection named best of the year by three independent judges. 

“The Story Prize―which recognizes the best story collection to be published each year―has quickly established itself as a nifty jewel in a writer’s crown.”