December 11, 2024, 11:36am

Joseph Earl Thomas won this year’s Center for Fiction First Novel Prize for his book God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer. Congratulations!

The novel has made it onto several best-of-2024 lists, and has been praised as “a powerful examination of every day black life–of health and sex, race and punishment, and the gaps between our desires and our politics.”

The selection panel — Merve Emre, Raven Leilani, Jonathan Lethem, and Tyriek White — chose Thomas’ book out of an impressive list of first novels. The award also comes with a $15,000 prize for Thomas.

Past winners of the First Novel Prize include Noor Naga, Tyriek White, Kirstin Valdez Quade, De’Shawn Charles Winslow, Tommy Orange, and Raven Leilani, who presented Thomas with the award last night at The Center for Fiction Annual Awards Benefit.