The Sunflower Boys

Dayton Literary · 2026 · Winner

Award History

Award	Year	Status	Citation
Dayton Literary Peace Prize – Fiction	2026	Winner	“The Sunflower Boys by Sam Wachman won the Dayton Literary Peace Prize for Fiction in 2026.”

About This Book

In Ukraine, twelve-year-old Artem worries that his feelings for his best friend could undo his life. After a Russian attack destroys his home and kills his mother, he and his younger brother cross the country with nothing but their backpacks, looking for their father. Winner of the 2026 Dayton Literary Peace Prize for Fiction.

About the Author

Sam WachmanAmerican

Sam Wachman is a writer from Cambridge, Massachusetts, with Ukrainian roots. His short fiction has appeared in Sonora Review, Berkeley Fiction Review, and New England Review. Before his debut novel, The Sunflower Boys, he taught English to primary schoolers in central Ukraine and worked with refugee families in Europe and the United States. Read more →