The Award

by Matthew Pearl

David Trent is an aspiring novelist in Cambridge, Massachusetts trying to navigate his ambitions in a place that has writers around every corner. He lives in an apartment above Silas Hale, a famous author who, beneath his celebrated image, is a bombastic, vindictive monster.

Silas refuses to allow his new neighbor to even make eye contact with him—until David wins a prestigious award for his new book. Suddenly Silas is interested, if intensely spiteful. But soon the administrator of the award comes to David with alarming news that forces him into a desperate set of choices. Then fate intervenes with shocking consequences.

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Literary Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Books About Books, Contemporary

256 pages, Hardcover

First published December 2, 2025

About the author

Note from the author:Hi everyone. My newest novel is The Dante Chamber, out May 29, 2018. It's a follow-up to my debut novel, The Dante Club, but you do not have to read one before the other, each stands on its own two feet. Hope you'll enjoy any of books you choose to pick up.

Matthew Pearl's novels have been international and New York Times bestsellers translated into more than 30 languages. His nonfiction writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Boston Globe, The Atavist Magazine, and Slate. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that Matthew's books are part of "the growing genre of novel being written nowadays -- the learned, challenging kind that does not condescend." Globe and Mail declares him "a writer of rare talents," Library Journal calls Matthew "the reigning king of popular literary historical thrillers," and the New York Daily News raves "if the past is indeed a foreign country, Matthew Pearl has your passport." Matthew has been chosen Best Author for Boston Magazine's Best of Boston and received the Massachusetts Book Award for Fiction.

In addition to Goodreads, you can keep in touch and learn more at my website, www.matthewpearl.com, and:
Twitter: @matthewpearl
Facebook: fb.me/matthewpearlauthor
Instagram: matthewpearlauthor

Reviews

[Melki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pearl's tale of a struggling writer who butts heads with the insufferable well-known author who lives downstairs is clever, nasty, and a joy to read. There's not a single likeable character here, so you'll find yourself rooting for the least obnoxious player. I loved it!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper for sharing.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC for review. To be published December 2, 2025.

3.5 stars

Aspiring author David Trent lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts when he and girlfriend, Bonnie begin looking for a place together. Just as David finishes his first book they find an apartment above the home of award winning author Silas Hale. David couldn’t be more excited about the thought of living above a legend - until he interacts with the horrible Hale. Hales attitude changes, though when David’s novel receives an award Silas once won.

Then David learns some shocking news. Events spiral after.

There were things I liked about this book (I was tense throughout, so Pearl’s sense of drama clearly worked for me) and things I wasn’t crazy about (but won’t spoil.) Overall, though it was very suspenseful and I’m glad to have read it.

[Jessica Woodbury · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm actually fine with books trying to imitate other books. You just have to do a good job. And if you don't do a good job, then there is no point in even existing since you're already just an imitation. This is a knockoff of THE PLOT that is not interesting and not good. Nothing anyone does makes sense. Somehow David doesn't have a job but can afford living in Cambridge until it suddenly is important for the plot that he not be able to afford it anymore. It's one of those This Is The Only Person Who Knows Something Important books, but it makes no sense that only one person would know it and that he wouldn't have mentioned it to a single other person. The entire book is reverse engineered around needing the plot to go a certain way, so no one acts in a way that is believable at all.

[Hank Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, this is incredibly brilliant. Thought-provoking, bitter, shocking, knowing, and absolutely authentic. It’s literary noir, a riveting and propulsive and irresistible story about a writer with dreams – – and how far someone will go to get what they want. Wry and knowing and terrifying and even laugh out loud funny, this is not to be missed. I devoured it, and cannot stop thinking about it.

[Linzie (suspenseisthrillingme) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought-provoking, witty, and deliciously satirical in nature, The Award combined literary fiction and noir and made it into an immersive experience. From the laugh-out-loud funny scenes to the ethical quandaries, I was pulled into this quick, easy read in no time at all. Perfect for fans of Jean Hanff Korelitz’s The Plot, it documented the slippery slope one might slide down in order to achieve their dreams by any means necessary. Riveting, suspenseful, and beyond entertaining, I was completely wrapped up in David’s egocentric worldview. You see, he was the kind of unlikeable character I love. At the same time, I was spellbound by his slow descent into increasingly bad behavior that often reminded me of Patricia Highsmith’s morally gray Mr. Ripley. A complex persona, his race to the top had me glued to the pages from start to finish.

All said and done, despite a somewhat slow start, this suspense-laden novel really made me wonder about Matthew Pearl’s experience in the literary field. Dark and twisted but also believably true-to-life, it had all the elements you look for when you want to be pulled into a fictional world: escalating tension, compelling characters, and plenty of psychological insight. Exploring ambition, rivalry, and how far one will go for their dreams, I think this would be a dynamite book club selection. After all, while most of the characters were rarified jerks, the various takedowns and twists made the plot sing. So if you’re looking for something with a slightly different feel, be sure to grab a copy today. Even though it wasn’t exactly a thriller, I had a blast side-eyeing David as he raced for the upper echelons of literary society. Rating of 4 stars.

SYNOPSIS:

David Trent is an aspiring novelist in Cambridge, Massachusetts, trying to navigate his ambitions in a place that has writers around every corner.

He lives in an apartment above a Very Famous Author named Silas Hale who, beneath his celebrated image, is a bombastic, vindictive monster who refuses to allow his new neighbor even to make eye contact with him.

Until young David wins a prestigious award for his new book.

Suddenly Silas is interested—if intensely spiteful.

But soon, the administrator of the award comes to David with alarming news, forcing the writer into a desperate set of choices.

Thank you to Matthew Pearl and Harper Books for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

PUB DATE: December 2, 2025

Content warning: death, violence, blackmail

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Writers are dangerous people.”—Nikita Gill

This satirical novel set in the literary world caught me completely off guard. And once it got going, I had a hard time putting it down. The Award is a cleverly plotted, slightly unhinged story about an aspiring writer desperate for a foothold in the publishing world. David and his fiancée Bonnie move into a small Cambridge apartment, and discovers that their downstairs neighbor is the Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist Silas Hale. David imagines mentorship, connections, maybe even friendship. What he gets instead is cruelty, humiliation, and a master class in manipulation. Hale is vicious, self-serving, and more than happy to exploit David’s decency.

When David’s own novel is published and wins a major literary award, and he’s invited to Hale’s infamous annual party, it feels like his luck has finally turned. Then, whoops… a clerical error reveals the award should have gone to someone else. From there, desperation takes over and the story spirals fast, veering into darker, more sinister territory.

This is a twisted look at ambition and the lengths people will go to for success: lying, cheating, cover-ups, and moral lines crossed again and again. Murder, sleuthing, deceit, blackmail—it’s all here, and once the chaos starts, it doesn’t let up. David keeps making one bad decision after another, digging himself deeper into a hole that feels almost impossible to escape. The author’s plotting is downright devious, told with wicked precision. I loved the suspense, the dark humor, and the sheer audacity of it all.

I can see why some readers compare this to The Plot especially in its take on dishonesty in the publishing world, though this novel is a bit more exaggeration and satirical. Even so, I found myself wishing for just a bit more depth beneath the madness. It was an enjoyable read that had me guessing at every twist of fate.

[R L HERSKOWITZ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars rounded up to 4 Stars.

This book is a story about a person trying
finish writing his first novel. It’s taking him years.
Then he needs to get the book published.
The guy loses sight of everything else in life
- his fiancée, his living accommodation,
the truth, etc.

I feel the book is really about the
politics of getting a book published,
winning book awards
& dealing with other novelists.
Parts were funny.
Parts were ridiculous.
Still, fun to read.


I liked the following sentence.
“Writers have special skills to make an afternoon seamlessly pass without accomplishing anything.”


Please read other reviews for more information.

[Michael · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m sure I’ve said this before, but if you’re going to compare a book to Highsmith, it’s going to need to deliver. This does not and it has been on so many best of lists and I’ve seen tons of Highsmith references. The book reads like YA, there are characters that pop up for no reason repeatedly, and the main character is another super obnoxious man baby. It never picks a lane, is it satire? comedy? thriller? It’s also wildly unbelievable, and I get it’s fiction and anything can happen, but there needs to be something holding the outrageous together, and that’s not the case here.

[Stacy40pages · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Award by Matthew Pearl. Thanks to @harperbooks for the gifted Arc ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Aspiring author David Trent is ecstatic when he rents a place above very author Silas Hale. Until he realizes Silas is a horrible person at heart. When David’s writing wins an award, Silas becomes even more spiteful.

Similar to The Plot, this is the story of a writer who will do a lot to get recognized. It’s a slippery slope. While not quite a thriller, it is suspenseful and definitely keeps the reader enthralled. It’s a moral read that makes you question your ethics, as you find yourself going along with all of David’s actions.

The Award comes out 12/2.

[Zoe Zeid · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like “The Plot” but worse. Unrealistic with an insufferable main character. Glad it was short.

[Barbara Schultz]

Title: The Award
Author: Matthew Pearl
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Format: 🎧
Narrator: Eric Altheide
Publisher: HarperAudio Adult/Harper
Pub Date: December 2, 2025
My Rating: 3.4 Stars

I was attracted to this story as I am an avid reader. SO the life of an aspiring author had me curious.
SO when I saw David Trent described as being such an author and was in!

Story starts when David and his girlfriend, Bonnie begin looking for a place together in Cambridge, Mass. The rent, of course, in Cambridge is extremely high - property is a premium – surely everyone knows it is a privilege to live in Cambridge!
They do find an apartment. However, it has a somewhat strange arrangement. It once was a one family home and the seller decided to make it two apartments. The first floor apartment has two floors and the other apartment is on the third floor. However the stairwell to the second apartment is extremely narrow and impossible for furniture to fit. Thus requires moving via Apartment One’s larger staircase and entering the third floor via a trapdoor.
Bonnie loves the location but David isn’t as excited- Until. . . .

When David finds out the apartment is above the home of award winning author Silas Hale, He is excited about living near such a famous author and thinks perhaps he might help him with his career. – He and Bonnie sign the two-year lease.
David was in for a surprise as Silas is far from someone willing to help. He is a mean man.

There is a mystery in this story and Silas is accused of murder. However, keeps saying David did it.
Story kept me curious.

Want to thank NetGalley and HarperAudio Adult/Harper for granting me this audiobook.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for December 2, 2025.

[Perry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has some high level similarities to The Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne, but takes a different point of view and a different result. I don't know if we are meant to root for David Trent, but we get his sociopathic and paranoid viewpoint. Was he just doing what he needed to do in the cutthroat world of publishing? What would have happened if Leni had simply won the award? This was an enjoyable read, but I felt like Pearl was slightly heavy handed in how things were going to go, so I was not as surprised as I might have been.

[Kim Alkemade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is there anything an egocentric writer won’t do in the pursuit of success and acclaim? Apparently not when there’s an award on offer, even if it means stooping to the craven depths of deception that high-brow exposés of publishing’s worst offenders drool over. This propulsive send-up of literary ambition kept me up all night!

[Matthew Minicucci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here's my review for the Pittsburgh Post Gazette (Sunday, November 30th): https://www.post-gazette.com/ae/books...

Full text below:

CHASING PRESTIGE

A little over a third of the way through “The Award,” during a particularly raucous holiday party hosted by the famous fictional writer (of fiction) Silas Hale, our main character David is having an intense conversation with another writer, Leni, about the perceived “value” of Hale’s work.

Leni says, in critique of Hale’s famous book “Sevenfold,” “it’s not a man he presents us, it’s man. It projects power and control in the guise of a character that even the ancients rebelled against. How he writes is manipulative, and maybe that’s the whole point. People want to be manipulated.”

Matthew Pearl, the much-loved writer of “The Dante Club,” among many other books, has given us in this new novel a world of writers and intrigue that fits very much into Leni’s assessment here. Unlike some of Pearl’s other novels, however, there’s no secret group or mystery to be solved. The most mysterious part of the work is why the possibilities of power and prestige seem to control so many of these characters in the context of the affluent and not-very-affable Harvard/Cambridge literary community.

One of the most engaging parts of the book is that the biggest parts of being a writer (garnering an agent, placing a book, receiving a residency/writer-in-residence position) are all glossed over in the “meantime” of The Award. Time passes as it seems to for most of us: long stretches of quotidian continuation followed by punctuated complications.

David, speaking with another fellow writer who haunts so many of the coffee shops and bookstores of the greater Cambridge, MA area, tells her “maybe I’m not a writer because I write, but [I’m] someone who writes to become a writer, if that makes sense.”

And it does. For so many of the characters in this novel writing is a means to an end, and that end is prestige and notoriety. As the book continues in its machinations in the second half, everyone has something they want from being a writer, but very few of them seem to have any specific desire to actually write.

As a writer who grew up in a lot of the environments that are being discussed in this book (MFA programs, literary scenes, the Cambridge area where my parents still live to this day), there’s a lot of familiarity with the pugilistic literary scene Pearl describes. He even begins the work with an author’s note saying simply “some of this happened.”

After twenty years in the literary world, I very much believe Pearl. There are astounding moments of arrogance and world-shifting events that seem to happen mostly at random. And (aside from some of the more sinister moments of intrigue and guile) this checks out. There’s always a writer who wants more and there’s always a writer who seems to have everything. And the line between those two writers, as Pearl shows us through David and events surrounding his titular award, is very thin indeed.

In the last real moment of interaction between David, perpetual tenant in the literary world and the established Silas Hale, Hale tells David “becoming a real writer isn’t about your writing. Not really, despite what they tell you in a classroom. It’s about understanding the reality that you have to take what’s yours, at all costs. Because everyone wants to see you choke, and because everything that makes you happy outside your writing will wither and deteriorate.”

Hale couldn’t be more right. Not in the context of the real-world literary community (well, not entirely), but in the context of this novel. Silas Hale is a truthteller, but the truth he brings to David and the myriad next-great-novelists isn’t about story structure or syntax, it’s about themselves. This is a book that feels, on the surface, like it’s about the fault in our literary stars but is actually ⎯ to borrow another writer’s famous phrasing ⎯ in ourselves.

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young would-be novelist is struggling to finish his first book, and sees it as a glorious opportunity when he moves into the apartment upstairs from the celebrated grand old man of Boston letters. Too bad the man turns out to be a monster! But our young hero will stop at nothing to advance his writing career, and things go downhill in a hurry.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suspenseful story of writers behaving badly.

[Marissa Goetschel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this book made me tense as I waited for whatever was coming next. I couldn't decide how I felt about the characters or how I felt about the way the story was unfolding around them. There was certainly suspense and some frustration but I enjoyed it.

[Tabitha Renner · Rating 2 out of 5]

ARC from NetGalley

I almost DNF this book multiple times. The main character, David, is insufferable. The story itself is well written, with the reader being able to feel the tension of different situations. What kept me reading to the end was my spite of David and waiting for the shoe to drop.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to Harper Audio & NetGalley for providing an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

If you liked The Plot, by Jean Hanff Korelitz, you might like this, as it's ... well, not exactly a knockoff, but it definitely has echoes of the former. Possibly beyond echoes, if I'm being honest. I LOVED The Plot, and if *I* were JHK, I'd be calling my lawyer right about now LOL.

Don't get me wrong; I enjoyed The Award. David Trent is every bit as hapless as Jacob Finch Bonner, but rather less likeable. Trent is the character Bonner would be if he were almost completely without a conscience, and with a heavy dollop of sociopathy. Kind of makes him tough to root for, so I spent the book cringing, waiting for someone to figure out this creep is, in fact, a creep. It's a less-gory, less striving American Psycho. American Inert Sociopath?

Other characters, apart from the vile Silas Hale, are so frustratingly un-fleshed out as to be completely forgettable (aside from their ability to catch out Trent). Here, it's helpful to have listened to the audiobook: Eric Altheide saves me by providing one very irritating character with extreme vocal fry, another with the bonhomie of the ever-choad. Trent's GF-cum-fiancée, Bonnie, has the apparent personality of paper, and I was sad when they got back together. Since Trent is impossible to root for, and the others are flimsy as tissue plus annoying, we are left with Leni, the rightful winner of the literary award, insurance doyenne, brilliant writer, and unintentional dupe. There's not much percentage in rooting for her, so I didn't, but she would've been the one if she had been more than a vague sketch of a character.

I think more than anything what this book lacks is a proper villain. The Plot has Anna/Diana, who is so blood-curdling that you keep reading just to see how she'll napalm (almost literally) everyone in her way. Trent is just a person to whom things happen, and he takes that and does essentially nothing. He has only artifice and no skill. Ahem, maybe this is more common with writers than I realized?

3.5 stars rounded up

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

RTC

[Faye · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first 5-star read of the year! Review to come.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast-paced, funny but suspenseful. I couldn’t put it down.

[Laura Wonderchick · Rating 4 out of 5]

For fans of writing, reading and the book world this was a fun and eventful read! Lots of turns to make you wonder how it was even going to end. I really enjoyed it!

[Mariga Temple-West · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was so excited to read this. But then... it was disappointing.

This is a quick read that goes down easy. If you just read it and don't think about it too much, it's a fine, enjoyable read.

However, the glaring improbabilities keep getting in the way. Yes, it's a satire, but even so the author has to keep things in the realm of possibility or else the story just gets silly. Our protagonist, David Trent, is apparently an unfeeling sociopath. Okay, fine. But how did he get that way? Did he have a bad childhood? His character, like so many in this story, is paper thin. David is so desperate to be a famous published author he's willing to kill for it. But why? His life doesn't seem so bad. He has no job, is supported by his girlfriend, lives in a nice neighborhood, and spends his days writing in cafes. It is never explained how he can afford to do this. David rails against other writers he knows who have parents paying their way, trust funds, etc., yet David lives exactly like them. Leisure! He's not toiling as a barista or bookseller or office drudge. His "terrible" situation just doesn't fly.

It seems the author had a plot in his head and just forced it and the reader is supposed to overlook this. The author does do suspense nicely, some scenes really make you cringe. But then, other scenes... trying to get a cell phone signal. The phone's charging! No it isn't! It almost is! Spotty service! Oh my!

It's a relatively short novel. If it had been any longer I don't think I would have finished it.

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m a sucker for a literary thriller/mystery, and this one was so well done…until the end, which I found unsatisfying. Womp womp.

[Cindy (leavemetomybooks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reminded me a bit of The Plot and Yellowface with an off-the-rails, at the core deeply unlikeable, desperate writer willing to do *anything* to be recognized for “having written,” but the pace of this was faster, with less filler and backstory, which allowed me to tear through it in two sittings — loved!

[Resh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was unputdownable! I finished this one so fast because I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next! 😧

📚A struggling writer believes that he finally gets to share a friendship with a famous writer, who had been a role model for him. He daydreams about this, while believing that this could be the breakthrough moment for him. However, things don’t go his way when the famous writer reveals to be quite the opposite of what he envisioned. Amid this shocking revelation, a series of events occurs which drives him into a state of no return.

📚I was mainly interested in this book because of the literary premise as the plot revolves around writers. The setting is also in Cambridge, Boston which in itself is lyrical. I went in blind and was so hooked from the start! The characters were vivid, questionable, and their thoughts and actions were so realistic! I don’t read a lot of mystery and thrillers so this was such a refreshing read with plenty of plot twists.

📚One thing I really enjoyed was how unpredictable some of the main character’s reactions are. Two times I predicted something, but he did the opposite which kept me on my toes! Another thing I really loved was how the story ended when it should end. No dragging, no fillers, just right! And I loved how “human” the characters were. Humans make mistakes, humans feel emotions like jealousy, fear, anger and everything that comes when you know you are loosing yourself. Flawed characters penned flawlessly!

Highly recommend even if you are not into thrillers like me on a regular basis. The suspense was so good!

Thank you to Harper Books for the gifted copy. All thoughts my own.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oooh what a twisty book! I don't want to spoil anything, but I had NO idea where this book was going and I loved every twist and turn. Reading books about authors is fascinating when you get to be inside their head, and so this book was a lot of fun to see behind the curtain, the motivations and muse for the works. I dislike pretentious authors, but somehow love them in books? I would say most of the characters in this book are unlikeable, but it works perfectly to move the story along and the twists just hit perfectly. I really enjoy how this story is told!

Note: I listened to the audiobook and the narrator did a great job of telling the story and showing how these characters can truly gaslight themselves to believing whatever they need to (both good and bad).

Thanks to the publisher for a free ARC and ALC; my thoughts and review are my own.

[Cindi · Rating 2 out of 5]

David Trent, Silas Hale, Barnaby: all equally unlikable.
This read more like short story to me. And because it was a quick read, I did finish it but could have cared less about the main characters.
Is it really that easy for someone who started out seeming to be a reasonably ‘good’ person - to go down an increasingly dark and twisty black hole?
I doubt very much I’ll think about, or even remember, this book going forward, certainly not in a positive way anyway.

[Crystal Hansen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was compared to The Plot. Fair, but The Plot was better. I don’t know if this was supposed to be satire, but it missed the mark for me. The main character was absolutely obnoxious and completely ridiculous. The only reason I didn’t DNF it was because it’s so short.