Ann Patchett Wins 2026 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction: ‘I am Grateful’
The bestselling novelist reflects on the honor—plus find out where to meet her this weekend
Key Takeaways
- Ann Patchett will receive the 2026 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction.
- Patchett will host a festival talk called "Friends Who Are Family, Family Who Are Friends."
- Patchett's novel ‘Bel Canto’ won the PEN/Faulkner Award and Women's Prize in 2002.
The Library of Congress’ National Book Festival is this Saturday, August 22, in Washington, D.C., and Ann Patchett is being honored. The Whistler author will be receiving the 2026 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction at this weekend’s book extravaganza and we have all the details on the festival, the bestselling author’s reaction and more. Keep reading for more!
Ann Patchett reacts to winning the 2026 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction
Earlier this year, the Library of Congress National Book Festival, which was founded in 2001 by former First Lady Laura Bush and James H. Billington (the 13th Librarian of Congress), announced that Patchett would be receiving the 2026 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction.
“Ann Patchett crafts moving, probing, tender novels. She has a talent for creating fiction that readers continually devour because she thinks deeply and writes evocatively about human connection,” Acting Librarian of Congress Robert R. Newlen said in a statement obtained by Woman’s World. “I am thrilled that she is the 2026 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction recipient.”
In the past, the award has gone to authors Geraldine Brooks, James McBride, George Saunders, Jesmyn Ward, Joy Williams, Colson Whitehead, Richard Ford, E. Annie Proulx, Denis Johnson, Marilynne Robinson, Louise Erdrich, E.L. Doctorow and Don DeLillo.
Prior to 2013, the award, which was called the Library of Congress Creative Achievement Award for Fiction at that time, was given to authors John Grisham, Isabel Allende, Toni Morrison and Philip Roth. Herman Wouk won the initial award in 2008, when it was called The Library of Congress Lifetime Achievement Award for the Writing of Fiction.
“The Library of Congress is one of our nation’s noblest institutions, and it’s full of librarians, who I consider to be the very noblest of people,” Patchett, whose 2001 novel Bel Canto won her the PEN/Faulkner Award and the UK’s Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2002, said in the same statement. “I am grateful for this award and honored by the association.”
Where to find Ann Patchett at the 2026 Library of Congress National Book Festival
At the 2026 Library of Congress National Book Festival, Patchett will be hosting a talk entitled “Friends Who Are Family, Family Who Are Friends” with author Tayari Jones and journalist Mary Louise Kelly It’s on Saturday, August 22 at 5:00 pm EST and you can get tickets here.
“What matters is that I get to do this work that I love right now. It’s amazing that people are reading it. I’m so grateful,” Patchett told Woman’s World earlier this month. “The older I get, the more I am just so grateful that anybody wants to read these books with everything they have going on in the world. But am I angling for immortality on top of that? No, I am not.”
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