PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel
1 appearances
-
Edition 47 (2022) Winner
Torrey Peters
トーリー・ピーターズ
Torī Pītāzu
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- 1981-07-01 （Evanston, Illinois）
- Nationality
- American
- Languages
- English
- Religion
- None
- Residence History
- Evanston, Illinois → Chicago, Illinois → Dominican Republic → Cameroon → Kampala, Uganda → Brooklyn, New York → Vermont → Santa Marta, Colombia
Career
- Occupations
- author, novelist
- Active Years
- 2012-2025
- Affiliations
- Topside Press
- Influenced By
- Imogen Binnie
- Nominations
- Otherwise Award 2017 Longlist, British Book Awards 2022 Shortlist, Publishing Triangle Awards Leslie Feinberg Award Shortlist
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hampshire College | — | — | BA | — | United States |
| University of Iowa | — | Writers' Workshop | MFA | — | United States |
| Dartmouth College | — | Comparative Literature | MA | — | United States |
Hampshire College
Degree:
BA
Country:
United States
University of Iowa
Writers' Workshop
Degree:
MFA
Country:
United States
Dartmouth College
Comparative Literature
Degree:
MA
Country:
United States
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | PEN/Hemingway Award | Detransition, Baby | — | PEN America | Won |
| 2021 | Women’s Prize for Fiction | Detransition, Baby | — | Women's Prize Trust | Longlisted |
| 2022 | Lambda Literary Award | Detransition, Baby | Transgender Fiction | Lambda Literary | Shortlisted |
| 2021 | National Book Critics Circle Award | Detransition, Baby | John Leonard Prize | — | Shortlisted |
PEN/Hemingway Award
2022
Work:
Detransition, Baby
Organization:
PEN America
Result:
Won
Women’s Prize for Fiction
2021
Work:
Detransition, Baby
Organization:
Women's Prize Trust
Result:
Longlisted
Lambda Literary Award
2022
Work:
Detransition, Baby
Category:
Transgender Fiction
Organization:
Lambda Literary
Result:
Shortlisted
National Book Critics Circle Award
2021
Work:
Detransition, Baby
Category:
John Leonard Prize
Result:
Shortlisted
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Detransition, Baby
2021 Fiction 352 pagesExplores gender, parenthood, and love through the story of trans woman Reese, her detransitioned ex Ames, and his pregnant boss Katrina.
transgender issuesgenderparenthoodlove
Stag Dance
2025 FictionA novel and three short stories exploring trans love, sisterhood, and betrayal.
trans relationshipsbetrayal
Infect Your Friends and Loved Ones
2016 Science fictionIn a dystopian future where bioterrorism has destroyed sex hormone production, follows Patient Zero and her relationship with trans girl Lexi.
transdystopia
The Masker
2016 HorrorA sissy Krys contemplates transition from male to female, choosing between forced feminization fantasy and real transition.
transition strugglesfetish
Bibliography
- Infect Your Friends and Loved Ones
- The Masker
- Glamour Boutique
- Detransition, Baby
- Stag Dance
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Direct address to trans women audienceRaw and explicit trans experiencesShift from self-publishing to mainstream
- Recurring Motifs
- Complexities of trans transitionGender fluidityRelationships within trans community
Legacy
Transgender author whose debut novel won the PEN/Hemingway Award and was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, the first openly trans woman to do so. Pioneered unabashed trans literature in mainstream publishing.
Quotes
-
But the more I leaned into masculinity, the more opaque I became to myself. My internal landscape desaturated. Sussing my own emotions was like feeling for lost objects on the bottom of a murky pond. Affection withered before I could express it.
Source: Bon Appétit (2022)
Trivia
- First openly trans woman longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction.
- Lives in Santa Marta, Colombia as of 2025.
- Published first essay while at University of Iowa.
- Self-published novellas to promote trans self-publishing.