The New York Public Library Announces E.J. Koh Winner of the 2024 Young Lions Fiction Award

June 13, 2024 —The New York Public Library is excited to announce the winner for the 24th annual Young Lions Fiction Award: E. J. Koh for her remarkable novel, The Liberators (Tin House). This accolade celebrates Koh's outstanding talent and contribution to American literature.

Koh was announced the winner at an award ceremony tonight at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building in the Celeste Bartos Forum. Her compelling narrative stood out among the finalists, chosen by a committee of writers, editors, and librarians. A panel of award judges selected E.J. Koh for this year’s $10,000 prize. This year’s judges were A. M. Homes, Caoilinn Hughes, and last year’s winner, Zain Khalid. 

The Young Lions Fiction Award spotlights contemporary novels that reflect the diversity of interests and experiences of the communities the Library serves. 

“The Liberators is a deft and powerful novel, historical and deeply humane. E.J. Koh illuminates Korean history with compassion and a poet's gift for language creating a haunting and resonant elegy that cuts across the great divide of multiple countries and generations,” said author A. M. Homes, one of the judges for this year’s award.

Koh’s debut work of fiction, The Liberators, transverses two continents and spans over four generations. It captures the profound impact of love and war on two Korean families. The novel delicately weaves together a tale of memory, trauma, and empathy, revealing the enduring consequences of inherited choices. It stands as a powerful testament to the fortunes and burdens of legacy.

Making its debut in 2001, the Young Lions Fiction Award is given each year to an American writer aged 35 or younger for either a novel or a collection of short stories published the year before in 2023. For more details about the Young Lions Fiction Award and the Young Lions visit nypl.org/yl.

Past winners of the Young Lions Fiction Award include last year’s winner Zain Khalid for Brother Alive; Kalani Pickhart for I Will Die in a Foreign Land; Catherine Lacey for Pew; Bryan Washington for Lot; Ling Ma for Severance. Past nominees have included Alexanda Kleeman for Something New Under the Sun; Brandon Taylor for Real Life; Kiley Reid for Such a Fun Age; Brit Bennett for The Mothers; Jesmyn Ward for Salvage the Bones; Teju Cole for Open City; and Julia Phillips for Disappearing Earth.

The New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award was founded by Ethan Hawke, Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, Rick Moody, and Hannah McFarland. The Award is made possible by an endowment created with generous gifts from Russell Abrams, Nina Collins, Hannah and Gavin McFarland, Ethan Hawke, Stephan Loewentheil, Rick Moody, Andrea Olshan and Jennifer Rudolph Walsh.

About the Young Lions

The Young Lions is a membership group for New Yorkers in their 20s and 30s who are committed to supporting the work of the Library. Each season, members enjoy exclusive events that feature writers and leaders in the arts, politics, business, law, and the media. Through presenting dynamic events and contributing to the General Book Fund, the Young Lions are integral to the life of the Library and its future. Information about the Young Lions group is available online at www.nypl.org/joinyl or by phone 212-930-0968.

About The New York Public Library

For over 125 years, The New York Public Library has been a free provider of education and information for the people of New York and beyond. With over 90 locations—including research and branch libraries—throughout the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island, the Library offers free materials, computer access, classes, exhibitions, programming and more to everyone from toddlers to scholars. The New York Public Library receives millions of visits through its doors annually and millions more around the globe who use its resources at www.nypl.org. To offer this wide array of free programming, The New York Public Library relies on both public and private funding. Learn more about how to support the Library at nypl.org/support.