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Shortlist
Shirley Jackson Award for Novel
2025 Shortlist & Longlist
Shortlist
Complete History
2020s
2010s
- 2019The Book of X — Sarah Rose Etter
- 2018Little Eve — Catriona Ward
- 2017The Hole — Pyun Hye-young
- 2016The Girls — Emma Cline
- 2015Experimental Film — Gemma Files
- 2014Annihilation — Jeff VanderMeer
- 2013American Elsewhere — Robert Jackson Bennett
- 2012Edge — Koji Suzuki
- 2011Witches on the Road Tonight — Sheri Holman
- 2010Mr. Shivers — Robert Jackson Bennett
About the Shirley Jackson Award for Novel
The Shirley Jackson Award for Novel is one of the most respected honors in the literature of psychological suspense, horror, and the dark fantastic. Established in 2007 with the permission of the estate of Shirley Jackson—author of The Haunting of Hill House and 'The Lottery'—the award is voted on annually by a jury of professional writers, editors, critics, and academics. The award is given in multiple categories including Novel, Novella, Novelette, Short Fiction, Single-Author Collection, and Edited Anthology, and is presented at Readercon, the Conference on Imaginative Literature, typically held in Massachusetts. The Novel category has recognized a remarkably diverse body of work, ranging from supernatural horror to quiet psychological dread, dark fantasy, and transgressive literary fiction. Past winners include Robert Jackson Bennett, Victor LaValle, Jeff VanderMeer, Gemma Files, Emma Cline, Pyun Hye-young, Catriona Ward, Sarah Rose Etter, Stephen Graham Jones (who won two consecutive years, 2020 and 2021), Gabino Iglesias (2022 tie), Sophie White (2022 tie), Tananarive Due (2023), and Yvonne Battle-Felton (2024). The award carries no monetary prize but is considered a mark of distinction in the horror and dark literary fiction community.
Frequently Asked Questions
- The Shirley Jackson Award honors outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror, and the dark fantastic. It is presented annually at Readercon, with permission of the Shirley Jackson estate.
- Shirley Jackson (1916–1965) was an American author celebrated for psychological horror fiction including The Haunting of Hill House, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, and 'The Lottery,' one of the most famous short stories in American literature.
- Winners are selected by a jury of professional writers, editors, critics, and academics, with input from a Board of Advisors. The jury changes each year.
- The award is given in six categories: Novel, Novella, Novelette, Short Fiction, Single-Author Collection, and Edited Anthology.
- The Shirley Jackson Award carries no monetary prize. Winners receive recognition and a handcrafted award object.
- Works of psychological suspense, horror, and the dark fantastic published in English in the prior calendar year are eligible. The award encompasses both genre horror and literary dark fiction.
- The award is presented at Readercon, Conference on Imaginative Literature, typically held in the Boston, Massachusetts area in the summer.
- Stephen Graham Jones won the Novel award two consecutive years (2020 for The Only Good Indians and 2021 for My Heart Is a Chainsaw), making him the most decorated novelist in the award's history.