The VCU Cabell First Novelist Award Committee has recently announced the three finalists for the 2021 award:

Luster, Raven Leilani (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

Memorial, Bryan Washington (Riverhead)

How Much of These Hills Is Gold, C. Pam Zhang (Riverhead)

These three were selected from a short list of 10, which was drawn from a longer list decided by the votes of the many volunteer readers from around the extended VCU community.

2021 Short List

Black Sunday, Tola Rotimi Abraham (Catapult)

Bestiary, K-Ming Chang (One World)

The Likely World, Melanie Conroy-Goldman (Red Hen)

Luster, Raven Leilani (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

My Dark Vanessa, Kate Elizabeth Russell (HarperCollins)

A Certain Hunger, Chelsea G. Summers (Unnamed Press)

Real Life, Brandon G. Taylor (Riverhead)

Memorial, Bryan Washington (Riverhead)

Subduction, Kristen Millares Young (Red Hen)

How Much of These Hills Is Gold, C. Pam Zhang (Riverhead)

The three finalist books will be read carefully and discussed by the committee, the students in the MFA in Creative Writing Program and last year’s winner, John Englehardt. Stay tuned for the announcement of the winner.