Mahreen Sohail's 'Small Scale Sinners' Wins PEN/Faulkner Prize

The debut story collection explores the full range of human experience across diverse settings.

Apr. 7, 2026 at 1:40am

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A minimalist, abstract illustration featuring bold, jagged shapes in black, white, and red, conceptually representing the themes of desire, rage, love, and loss explored in the award-winning story collection 'Small Scale Sinners.'The PEN/Faulkner Award honors Mahreen Sohail's debut story collection, which explores the full spectrum of human experience through striking prose.NYC Today

Mahreen Sohail's debut story collection 'Small Scale Sinners' has won the prestigious PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. The wide-ranging book features stories set in locations from a college campus to a training camp for child soldiers, showcasing Sohail's 'sharp and striking prose' that 'reveals the hearty landscape of desire, rage, love, and loss contained in nearly every life.'

Why it matters

The PEN/Faulkner Award is one of the most prestigious literary prizes in the United States, recognizing excellence in American fiction. Sohail's win for her debut work highlights her as an emerging literary voice and brings attention to the themes and settings explored in 'Small Scale Sinners,' which tackle complex human experiences across diverse backdrops.

The details

Sohail's 'Small Scale Sinners' is a collection of short stories that span a variety of locations and subject matter, from a college campus to a training camp for child soldiers. The book has been praised for Sohail's 'sharp and striking prose' that 'reveals the hearty landscape of desire, rage, love, and loss contained in nearly every life.'

  • The PEN/Faulkner Award was announced on April 7, 2026.

The players

Mahreen Sohail

The author of the award-winning story collection 'Small Scale Sinners.'

PEN/Faulkner Award

One of the most prestigious literary prizes in the United States, recognizing excellence in American fiction.

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The takeaway

Mahreen Sohail's award-winning debut story collection 'Small Scale Sinners' has been praised for its ability to capture the full range of human experience across diverse settings, establishing Sohail as an emerging literary voice in American fiction.