O. Henry Award facts for kids

The O. Henry Award is a special yearly prize given in the United States to amazing short stories. It's named after a famous American short-story writer called O. Henry.

The PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories is a yearly book. It collects the twenty best short stories. These stories are chosen from magazines published in the U.S. and Canada.

Before 2002, there were first, second, and third place winners. From 2003 to 2019, three judges each picked a story they really liked. The collection is now called The PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories. The first collection was named Prize Stories 1919: The O. Henry Memorial Awards.

How the O. Henry Award Started and Works

This award began in 1919. It was first paid for by the Society of Arts and Sciences.

Today, a special guest editor chooses twenty short stories. Each one becomes an O. Henry Prize story. Any story published in an American or Canadian magazine can be considered. This includes stories that have been translated into English.

The main goal of The O. Henry Prize Stories is to keep the art of writing short stories strong.

Jenny Minton Quigley is the current editor for The O. Henry Prize Stories. Many famous editors have worked on the series before her. There were no new books in 1952, 1953, 2004, and 2020.

Working with PEN America

In 2009, the company that publishes The O. Henry Prize Stories, Anchor Books, teamed up with the PEN American Center. This group is now called PEN America. Because of this partnership, the series was renamed PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories.

Money earned from the PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories 2009 helped PEN's Readers & Writers Program. This program sends well-known authors to schools in cities that need more support.

The 2009 collection included stories by many great writers. Some of these were Graham Joyce, Ha Jin, Paul Theroux, and Junot Díaz. Famous authors like A. S. Byatt and Tim O'Brien were judges for the prize that year.

The editor, Laura Furman, said that working with PEN was a "natural partnership."

O. Henry Award Winners (1919–2002)

This table shows some of the first-prize winners of the O. Henry Award.

Jurors' Favorite Stories (2003–2019)

After 2002, the award changed. Instead of first, second, and third prizes, three judges would pick their favorite stories. These stories were then included in the yearly collection.

Guest Editors (2021–Present)

Since 2021, a different guest editor is chosen each year to help pick the stories.

See also

In Spanish: Premio O. Henry para niños

• The Best American Short Stories