The Prize
Katherine Anne Porter Prize in Short Fiction, 2026
The Katherine Anne Porter Prize in Short Fiction is among the most distinguished awards for a debut story collection in American letters. Awarded by the University of North Texas Press, it honors a single manuscript of exceptional literary merit.
About the 2026 Winner
INHALE by R. Kumra was selected as the winner of the 2026 Katherine Anne Porter Prize. The collection comprises twenty interconnected stories set in Gaza, following lives across generations of displacement, resistance, and the stubborn persistence of beauty under siege.
Organized in six parts — The Unraveling, The Searching, The Witnessing, The Reaching, The Lasting, The Sounding — the book traces one complete breath cycle from the opening border interrogation to the closing exhalation.
About the Prize
Named for Katherine Anne Porter (1890–1980), the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Collected Stories and Ship of Fools, the prize was established to recognize outstanding new voices in short fiction.
The prize is awarded by the University of North Texas Press and includes publication of the winning manuscript. The press is distributed by the Texas A&M University Press Consortium.
About the Author
R. Kumra is a fiction writer from Dearborn, Michigan. INHALE is their debut collection. Kumra worked in a warehouse in Edison, New Jersey, while completing the manuscript.