UCLA Social Sciences
The author of the winning book will be honored at the annual PEN America Literary Awards Ceremony considered “The Oscars for Books.” (Composite: PEN America)
Jason De Leon’s book, “Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling” has been selected on the longlist for the 2025 PEN America Literary Awards.
Drawing on seven years of on-the-ground ethnographic research and interviews, “Soldiers and Kings” gives voice and unprecedented context to the people, most of them young men, who make a precarious living smuggling migrants from Central America and Mexico into the United States.
Founded in 2016, the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award is an annual award which recognizes a book-length work of any genre for its originality, merit, and impact, which has broken new ground by reshaping the boundaries of its form and signaling strong potential for lasting influence. A distinguished panel of judges nominates candidates internally. The author of the winning book will receive a prize of $75,000 and will be honored at the annual 61st annual PEN America Literary Awards Ceremony to be held on May 8 in New York City.
De León serves as director of UCLA’s Cotsen Institute of Archaeology and is a professor of anthropology and Chicana/o and Central American studies. He is an expert on the study of migration and the human consequences of immigration policy, with a focus on undocumented migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. In 2017 he was named a Macarthur Genius fellow.
Read PEN America’s full announcement here.
Learn more about “Soldiers and Kings:” UCLA’s Jason De León wins National Book Award for Nonfiction.