PEN/Faulkner Foundation (est. 1980) is an independent charitable arts foundation which supports the art of writing and encourages readers of all ages.[1] It accomplishes this through a number of programs, including its flagship PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, one of the premier fiction awards in America; the PEN/Malamud Award for short fiction; and a number of educational and reading series programs.[1] Since 1983 the Foundations administration is housed at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C.[1][2]
The Foundation was established in 1980 by National Book Award winner Mary Lee Settle.[1][2] In 1978 her novel Blood Tie won the National Book Award. In 1979 she was invited to be a judge on the National Book Award's fiction panel.[2] The panel subsequently awarded first prize to Tim O'Brien's Going After Cacciato instead of the bestselling The World According to Garp by John Irving.[2] The New York publishing industry, angered by O'Brien's obscure title winning over Irving's bestseller, canceled its support of the National Book Award and changed the voting rules.[2] In response, in the fall of 1980, Settle and some friends from Charlottesville, VA launched a competing prize which named the "PEN/Faulkner Award".[2] "[Settle's] goal was to establish a national prize that would recognize literary fiction of excellence, an award juried by writers for writers, free of commercial concerns." [1]
"PEN" is an acronym for Poets, Editors and Novelists and is associated with International PEN.[2] "Faulkner" is a tribute to novelist William Faulkner, one of Settle's main inspirations, who had donated his 1949 Nobel Prize money to fund awards for younger writers.[2]