The 2026 Deborah Pease Prize

Join us for an evening of cocktails and conversation in celebration of Kelly Link, the recipient of the 2026 Deborah Pease Prize.

Kelly Link is one of the indispensable short story writers of the twenty-first century: the author of now five collections, including the Pulitzer Prize finalist Get in Trouble, and a novel, The Book of Love, both published by Random House; and the recipient of a MacArthur "Genius Grant" Fellowship for "pushing the boundaries of literary fiction." She has influenced a generation of genre-defiant writers and readers. What was rare in 2006, and found support in small presses, is now central to our literature.

"Kelly Link specializes in seeing the extraordinary in ordinary situations. The monsters, the ghosts, the magic and inexplicable creatures in her fiction are not stranger than our own lives," our board member Yiyun Li, described her work. "We're delighted to be able to honor this master storyteller and her singular vision through the 2026 Deborah Pease Prize. And also to recognize Kelly Link for her contributions as a dedicated publisher and bookseller, and to celebrate the kindred spirits—both writers and readers—she has created an enduring space for."

The Deborah Pease Prize

Named in honor of A Public Space’s founding benefactor, Deborah Pease (1943-2014), the prize is awarded to a figure who has advanced the art of literature. Previous recipients of the Deborah Pease Prize include Deborah Treisman, the New Yorker fiction editor, and Michael Silverblatt, the founder and longtime host of the radio program Bookworm.

The Deborah Pease Prize, our board president, Charles Buice, noted, "carries forward the legacy of one of the founders of A Public Space. Since 2019, the prize has honored remarkable figures whose deep talents and advocacy have helped ensure the vitality of literature and the arts."