PEN/Hemingway Award

The PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel is a prize given by PEN America to the best first novel by an American author. The winner receives $10,000 to help give them time and space to write as they begin their career.
This is one of the PEN America Literary Awards, which are a group of twenty awards that are given for writing. 
These awards started in 1963. They are given by PEN America, the American branch of International PEN. This group works "to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide." The group works for the freedom of writers to say what they want to say in their writing.
PEN America began in 1922. After World War I, to build peace and understanding, writers wanted to be connected to each other across many countries. The word PEN is an acronym that means "Poets, Essayists, Novelists."