Highway Thirteen by Fiona McFarlane (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) has won the $20,000 Story Prize, which honors the author of "an outstanding collection of short fiction. Books by living authors, written in English and published in the U.S. in a calendar year, are eligible." The award is underwritten by the Chisholm Foundation.
Runners up were There Is a Rio Grande in Heaven by Ruben Reyes Jr. (Mariner Books) and Ghost Pains by Jessi Jezewska Stevens (And Other Stories). Each author receives $5,000.
Organizers described Highway Thirteen as "a collection of 12 skillfully written short stories that take place over the course of 78 years and explore the far-reaching effects of a serial killer's crimes without directly depicting the murderer or the killings."
The judges wrote, "Fiona McFarlane writes with psychological precision and a masterful sense of suspense. Each story is artfully constructed and the way they fit together, spanning 78 years, is nothing short of dazzling. Fiona McFarlane's book is a tour de force about the stories we tell, the surprising ways our lives connect, and the ripple effects of violence."
Highway Thirteen is Australian author McFarlane's fourth book of fiction and her second short story collection. She is the author of The Night Guest and The High Places, which won the International Dylan Thomas Prize. Her short fiction has been published in the New Yorker, the Paris Review, and Zoetrope: All-Story. She teaches at the University of California, Berkeley.
Story Prize director Larry Dark and founder Julie Lindsey selected the three finalists from among 107 short story collections published in 2024, representing 87 publishers or imprints. Three judges--writer and editor Elliott Holt, writer Maurice Carlos Ruffin, and bookseller Lucy Yu of Yu & Me Books, New York City--determined the winner.
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Ann Regan has won the 2025 Kay Sexton Award for her "significant contributions to and leadership in Minnesota's literary community." She will be honored at the 37th annual Minnesota Book Awards Ceremony in St. Paul on April 22.
Organizers wrote: "Regan retired in 2024 as the editor in chief at the Minnesota Historical Society Press, the oldest publisher in the state and the largest historical society press in the country, where she worked for 46 years. She acquired and edited books in Native American studies, ethnic studies, memoir, true crime, and politics."
The award panel praised the way Regan "has worked with writers throughout her career, her willingness to take a chance on an idea and help the author or editor develop that idea into a book. The panel stated that Regan has exemplified 'sheer dedication and devotion to literature... she is everything this award stands for.' "
For more about Regan's life and career, click here.