Wilkinsburg author Deesha Philyaw in running for 2021 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction

Wilkinsburg author Deesha Philyaw is continuing to rack up literary accolades.

Philyaw’s “The Secret Lives of Church Ladies” was named to the longlist for the 2021 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, America’s largest peer-juried literary prize, on Tuesday.

In October, Philyaw’s story collection was named a finalist in the fiction category for the National Book Awards. Philyaw is writing the adaption of her book for HBO/HBO Max.

Philyaw appeared excited about Tuesday’s announcement in a Twitter post:

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! https://t.co/FDqOkdzSt3

— Deesha Philyaw (@DeeshaPhilyaw) February 2, 2021

The other books to make the list:

• “Bestiary” by K-Ming Chang
• “Dear Ann” by Bobbie Ann Mason
• “Disappear Doppelgänger Disappear” by Matthew Salesses
• “The Knockout Queen” by Rufi Thorpe
• “Mother Daughter Widow Wife” by Robin Wasserman
• “Nine Shiny Objects” by Brian Castleberry
• “The Office of Historical Corrections” by Danielle Evans
• “Scattered Lights” by Steve Wiegenstein
• “Transcendent Kingdom” by Yaa Gyasi

“These extraordinary times have called forth extraordinary art,” said Louis Bayard, PEN/Faulkner’s Awards committee chair, “and the 10 titles chosen for our longlist are a powerful reminder that fiction is as essential as ever.”

This year’s judges — Charles Finch, Bernice L. McFadden, and Alexi Zentner — considered more than 400 novels and short story collections published in 2020. The judges will choose five finalists from the longlist in March, with the winner announced in April.