October 22nd, 2025 — We’re excited to share that Ayana Mathis (CRF 2017) and Chinelo Okparanta (CRF 2015) have been named finalists for the 2025 John Dos Passos Prize, awarded by Longwood University. The Dos Passos Prize honors writers whose work demonstrates bold innovation in form and a layered engagement with American themes.
Ayana’s candidacy leans on her recent work The Unsettled (Vintage) as well as her debut The Twelve Tribes of Hattie (Vintage), a touchstone in contemporary American fiction. Chinelo is recognized for her novels Harry Sylvester Bird (Mariner Books) and Under the Udala Trees (Mariner Books), among other works that explore issues of identity, displacement, and belonging.
This shortlist is not only a testament to their accomplishments so far, but a promise of work that continues pushing at the edges of narrative and representation. The winner will be announced later this year, and will be invited to read at Longwood in spring 2026.
Complimenti, Ayana and Chinelo!