The Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction, established in 1991, is a category of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize awarded to authors' debut books of fiction. It is named for the Los Angeles Times' critic Art Seidenbaum, who was also an author and editor. Works are eligible during the year of their first US publication in English, though they may be written originally in languages other than English.
Recipients +Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction winners and finalistsYearAuthorTitleResultRef.1991Pangs of LoveWinnerWartime LiesFinalistLouis EdwardsTen SecondsNico RicciThe Book Of SaintsHow To Make An American Quilt1992High CottonWinnerJane ShapiroAfter MoondogFinalistLinda SvendsenMarine Life1959She's Come Undone1993Paul KafkaLoveWinnerCome To MeFinalistMourning DovesLike Water For ChocolateMother Rocket1994Martin Milan ŠimečkaThe Year of the FrogWinnerOn LoveFinalistIn Search Of BernabéThe Indian ChroniclesA Place Where The Sea Remembers1995American StudiesWinnerA. J. VerdelleThe Good NegresseFinalistA Stone BoatCharles D'AmbrosioThe PointMukul KesavanLooking Through The Glass1996The Smell of ApplesWinnerThe Veracruz BluesFinalistDaniel AkstSt. Burl's ObituaryJose Raul BernardoThe Secret Of The BullsJudith FarrI Never Came To You In WhiteThe Debt To PleasureResurrection ManI Was Amelia Earhart1997Don't Erase Me: StoriesWinnerA Crime In The NeighborhoodFinalistRound RockA Child Out Of AlcatrazThe God Of Small Things1998KalimantaanWinnerLan Samantha ChangHunger: A Novella and StoriesFinalistSamantha GillisonThe Undiscovered CountryNicholas PapandreouA Crowded HeartBart SchneiderBlue Bossa1999Amy and IsabelleWinnerBy the ShoreFinalistFor the Relief of Unbearable UrgesInterpreter Of MaladiesThe Last Things2000The RomanticsWinnerHelen DeWittThe Last SamuraiFinalistMatthew KlamSam the Cat and other storiesAkhil SharmaAn Obedient FatherZadie SmithWhite Teeth2001The Dark RoomWinnerThe Death of VishnuFinalistMy Dream Of YouNani PowerCrawling At NightJohn WrayThe Right Hand Of Sleep2002PragueWinnerJay BasuThe Stars Can WaitFinalistJonathan Safran FoerEverything Is IlluminatedNicole KraussMan Walks Into A RoomHari KunzruThe Impressionist2003The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-TimeWinnerMonica AliBrick LaneFinalistDavid Marshall ChanGoblin Fruit:StoriesJohn MurrayA Few Short Notes On Tropical Butterflies: StoriesLara VapnyarThere Are Jews In My House2004HarborWinnerPete DuvalRear ViewFinalistDavid BezmogisNatasha and other storiesSusan FletcherEve GreenLisa GlattA Girl Becomes A Comma Like That2005Beasts of No NationWinnerKirstin AllioGarnerFinalistKaren FisherA Sudden CountryOlga GrushinThe Dream Life Of SukhanovMarlon JamesJohn Crow's Devil2006Alice GreenwayWhite Ghost GirlsWinnerJennifer GilmoreGolden CountryFinalistLisa FugardSkinner’s DriftTony D'SouzaWhitemanJanis Cooke NewmanMary2007The Beautiful Things That Heaven BearsWinnerThe Last Chicken in AmericaFinalistSkylark FarmThe UnderstoryTwenty Grand: and Other Tales of Love and Money2008Finding NoufWinnerMosquitoFinalistUwem AkpanSay You're One Of ThemThe OutcastThe Story of Edgar Sawtelle2009American RustWinnerIn Other Rooms, Other WondersFinalistTinkersAn Elegy For EasterlyEverything Ravaged, Everything Burned2010The House of TomorrowWinnerPortraits of a Few of the People I’ve Made CryFinalistThe More I Owe YouThe Lotus EatersThe Gin Closet2011ShardsWinnerLeaving the Atocha StationFinalistTen Thousand SaintsThe Art Of FieldingThe Arriviste2012Seating ArrangementsWinnerFobbitFinalistThe Natural Order Of ThingsLydia NetzerShine Shine ShineMr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore2013We Need New NamesWinnerI Want To Show You MoreFinalistMira CorporaThe Night GuestThe Peripatetic Coffin and Other Stories2014 with (trans.)Faces in the CrowdWinnerA Girl Is a Half-Formed ThingFinalistMan V. Nature: StoriesThe Heaven of Animals: StoriesWolf in White Van2015The FishermenWinnerBinary StarFinalistAgainst The CountryGirl At WarThe Miracle Girl2016The NixWinnerSpill Simmer Falter WitherFinalistAgainst The CountryWays To DisappearThe Bed Moved2017Sour HeartWinnerGoodbye, VitaminFinalistHer Body and Other PartiesMy Absolute DarlingThe Idiot2018Heads of the Colored PeopleWinnerAsymmetryFinalistThe Deeper the Water the Uglier the FishThe IncendiariesThere There2019The Old DriftWinnerDe'Shawn Charles WinslowIn West MillsFinalistMarilou Is EverywhereOptic NerveSay Say Say2020The Secret Lives of Church LadiesWinnerA House is a Body: StoriesFinalistLittle GodsShuggie BainThese Ghosts Are Family2021BroodWinnerAssemblyFinalistThe Recent EastMy Monticello: Fiction with Adrian Nathan West (trans.)When We Cease to Understand the World2022The Return of Faraz Ali: a novelWinnerLoveFinalistStories from the Tenants DownstairsCalling for a Blanket DanceManywhere: Stories2023Company: StoriesWinnerThe Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa: A NovelFinalistI'm a Fan: A NovelIdlewild: A NovelDearborn2024Cinema LoveWinnerGhostroots: StoriesFinalistGod Bless You, Otis SpunkmeyerOlive DaysWhat We Tried to Bury Grows Here2025Justin HaynesIbis: A NovelWinner Retrieved 2026-05-14.Andy AndereggPlumFinalistKrystelle BamfordIdle Grounds: A NovelAddie E. CitchensDominion: A NovelSaou IchikawaHunchback: A Novel
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