Medal for Editorial Excellence
The Center for Fiction Medal for Editorial Excellence honors the work of an editor, publisher, or agent who over the course of his or her career has discovered, nurtured and championed writers of fiction in the United States.
The final selection is made by a panel of publishing professionals convened by The Center. The award is intended to provide a means by which the literary world can each year acknowledge the critical role played by agents, editors, and publishers and reward their outstanding work.
2025: Kate Medina
The Center for Fiction is thrilled to award esteemed editor Kate Medina the 2025 Medal for Editorial Excellence at our Annual Awards Benefit on Tuesday, December 9th at Cipriani 25 Broadway.
Medina’s illustrious career spanned more than four decades. She began in publishing at Doubleday and, in 1985, she joined Random House, where she rose to become Executive Vice President, Associate Publisher, and Executive Editorial Director. She worked with some of the most celebrated voices in contemporary literature including E. L. Doctorow, Alice Walker, Anna Quindlen, Amy Bloom, Emma Cline, Isabel Wilkerson, Jon Meacham, Katherine Boo, Andrea Elliott, and Gloria Steinem. Her editorial vision and commitment to literary excellence shaped countless landmark books and helped define generations of storytelling.
Author Anna Quindlen will join Medina on stage to present the award.
2024: Kathryn Belden
Kathryn Belden, Vice President and Editorial Director of Scribner, received The Center for Fiction 2024 Medal for Editorial Excellence. Author Jesmyn Ward presented the award to Belden at The Center for Fiction Annual Awards Benefit on December 10, 2024. In her editorial career, Belden has shepherded some of the most consequential contemporary literature from manuscript to publication, including groundbreaking fiction by Pete Beatty, Brinda Charry, Ash Davidson, Sidik Fofana, Mitchell S. Jackson, Kiese Laymon, Tom Perrotta, Jason Reynolds, Lisa See, Jesmyn Ward, John Edgar Wideman, and many others.
2023: Graywolf Press
Graywolf Press received The Center for Fiction 2023 Medal for Editorial Excellence, presented by author Carmen Maria Machado. Director and Publisher Carmen Giménez, Editorial Director Ethan Nosowsky, and Fiona McCrae, who served as Director and Publisher from 1994 to 2022, accepted the Medal on behalf of the organization at our Annual Awards Benefit on December 5, 2023.
2022: Sarah McGrath
Sarah McGrath, Editor-in-Chief of Riverhead Books, received The Center for Fiction 2022 Medal for Editorial Excellence. New York Times bestselling author Brit Bennett presented the award to McGrath at The Center for Fiction Annual Awards Benefit on December 6, 2022.
2021: Alvina Ling
Alvina Ling, Vice President and Editor-in-Chief at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, received The Center for Fiction 2021 Medal for Editorial Excellence. Board Member Jacqueline Woodson introduced the award, the first ever to have been awarded to an editor of young people’s literature, at The Center for Fiction Annual Awards Benefit & 200th Anniversary Celebration on December 7, 2021. Children’s book author and illustrator Grace Lin presented the award to Ling.
2020: Chris Jackson
Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Chris Jackson of One World, an imprint of Penguin Random House, is the recipient of the 2020 Center for Fiction Medal for Editorial Excellence, presented by Ta-Nehisi Coates, National Book Award and MacArthur Fellowship-winning author of the best sellers Between the World and Me and the widely acclaimed debut novel The Water Dancer. Jackson is the editor of award-winning and bestselling authors, including Coates, Jordy Rosenberg, Kali Fajardo-Astine, Maurice Carlos Ruffin, Victor LaValle, Bryan Stevenson, Jill Leovy, Trevor Noah, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Ibram X. Kendi, Valarie Kaur, and Eddie Huang.
All Recipients
Read about Graywolf Press, Sarah McGrath, Alvina Ling, Chris Jackson, Lynn Nesbit, Sonny Mehta, Morgan Entrekin, Eric Simonoff, Daniel Halpern, Nicole Aragi, and other recipients of this award.