The 2011 Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award goes to Brando Skyhorse and the "Madonnas of Echo Park," edging out Patricia Engel for "Vida" and Suzanne Rivecca for "Death Is Not An Option."

The ceremony is March 27th, at the JFK Presidential Library.

The PEN American Center was founded in 1922 by the likes of Joseph Conrad, George Bernard Shaw and H.G. Wells. The late Mary Hemingway, a member of PEN, founded the award in 1976 to honor the memory of her husband, Ernest Hemingway.

The PEN/Hemingway Foundation Award is given for a novel or book of short stories by an American author who has not previously published a book of fiction.

In addition to $8000, the winner also receives a one-week residency in The Distinguished Visiting Writers Series at the University of Idaho’s MFA Program in Creative Writing. In addition, the winner and competition finalists and honorable mentions receive Ucross Residency Fellowships at the Ucross Foundation in Wyoming, a retreat for artists and writers.

Previous winners included "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Apt. 3W" by George Brownstein in 2003 and  "The Magic of Blood" by Dagoberto Gilb in 1994.