Story perspectives

Mahreen Sohail Wins PEN/Faulkner Award for Debut Novel

4/7/2026

Summary

Story summary

Mahreen Sohail's debut collection, Small Scale Sinners, won the PEN/Faulkner Award for fiction.
The award committee praised the book's prose as sharp and striking, and its exploration of desire, rage, love, and loss.
Sohail, originally from Pakistan and based in Washington, D.C., spent a decade writing the collection to portray independent women's experiences.
She will receive a $15,000 prize, joining past winners such as Philip Roth and Ann Patchett.

1 of 1

Story summary

Mahreen Sohail's debut collection, Small Scale Sinners, won the PEN/Faulkner Award for fiction.
The award committee praised the book's prose as sharp and striking, and its exploration of desire, rage, love, and loss.
Sohail, originally from Pakistan and based in Washington, D.C., spent a decade writing the collection to portray independent women's experiences.
She will receive a $15,000 prize, joining past winners such as Philip Roth and Ann Patchett.