EKU student’s novel makes the finalist list for PEN/Hemingway Award

RICHMOND — A nationally recognized literary award shines the spotlight on Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) student Karol Lagodzki.

Currently pursuing his Master of Fine Arts (MFA) with EKU’s Bluegrass Writers Studio Low-Residency MFA in creative writing program, Lagodzki’s debut novel, Controlled Conversations, was one of only five finalists for this year’s prestigious PEN/Hemingway Award. 

The honor places Lagodzki among the most promising new voices in American fiction and reflects the caliber of writers drawn to EKU’s Bluegrass Writers Studio.

“Making the shortlist for the PEN/Hemingway puts Karol in a very exclusive list of nationally recognized, bestselling and multi-award-winning authors,” said Robert Dean Johnson, director of the Bluegrass Writers Studio and English professor. “He’s the second PEN America Award finalist in our program's history.”

The PEN/Hemingway Award is a prestigious literary prize awarded annually to a debut novel or short story collection by an American author. Established in 1976 by the family of Ernest Hemingway, it is administered by PEN America and honors outstanding first works of fiction. The award is known for recognizing emerging writers who go on to have significant literary careers.

“There are thousands of novels published every year by traditional presses, and to be in this small group of authors nominated feels pretty good,” Lagodzki said.

Lagodzki, originally from Poland, began writing his debut novel in 2016. In 2024, Controlled Conversations was published by Sunbury Press and longlisted for the Dzanc Books Prize in Fiction. His short stories have appeared in Invisible City, Storm Cellar, Panel Magazine, and elsewhere, earning recognition such as the 2020 Ruritania Prize for Short Fiction and nominations for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. He holds a previous MFA from the Creative Writing program at Mississippi University for Women.

“I'm hoping that the readers of the book each carry something for themselves from it,” said Lagodzki. “The book is many things. It’s a thriller in a sense, because it does have a tightly wound plot story, but it takes detours into different topics.”

EKU’s Bluegrass Writers Studio offers a flexible, low-residency MFA in Creative Writing with tracks in fiction, popular fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry. Designed to be flexible, the program combines online coursework in fall and spring with immersive 8-15 day residencies in Richmond and Lisbon, Portugal.

Students benefit from personalized mentorship, a strong writing community and opportunities for editorial experience with small presses and the program’s own award-winning literary journal, Jelly Bucket.

For those considering EKU’s creative writing program, Lagodzki said, “It is most definitely worth it. Regardless of how good of a writer you think you are, you always learn something new. It’s how you think about the world, about the issues of the world, that matters, and that informs you, as a writer, about other human beings. Because in my mind, the main job of a writer, especially fiction writer, is to help the reader empathize with a different person on the page.”

Lagodzki lives with his family in southern Indiana, where he writes and also volunteers as a literary journal reader.