Yaa Gyasi

Awards & Honours

Awards Won

Honours

Covers

Yaa Gyasi's literary achievements are remarkable for their early and sustained recognition. Her debut novel Homegoing earned three major awards and placed her among the National Book Foundation's 5 Under 35, a rare feat for a first-time novelist. Her second novel Transcendent Kingdom received the Vilcek Prize, which honors immigrant contributions to American culture. Gyasi's work has been featured in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, and TIME, cementing her reputation as a leading voice in contemporary fiction.

AwardsYaa Gyasi has won several major literary awards for her debut novel Homegoing, including the National Book Critics Circle's John Leonard Award, the PEN/Hemingway Award, and a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honor. In 2020, she received the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Literature for Transcendent Kingdom.

Honours & Distinctions

Great Immigrant

Carnegie Corporation·2019

Recognized for her contributions to American literature as an immigrant.

Magazine Covers

TIME

June 2016

Homegoing: Yaa Gyasi Makes Her Literary Debut

The New Yorker

September 14, 2020

Yaa Gyasi Explores the Science of the Soul

The Paris Review

September 2020

We Take Everything with Us

The Guardian

January 2017

Slavery is on people's minds. It affects us still

Guernica

September 2016

Yaa Gyasi: Taking a Long View