Rae Giana Rashad's THE BLUEPRINT longlisted for prestigious PEN Open Book Award

Rae Giana Rashad’s debut novel THE BLUEPRINT has been longlisted for the prestigious PEN America Open Book Award, which recognises “exceptional book-length works of any genre by an author of colour”.

Published by HarperCollins, THE BLUEPRINT is a speculative novel in the vein of Octavia E Butler and Margaret Atwood. The book is set in an alternate United States, a world of injustice and bondage in which a young Black woman becomes the concubine of a powerful white government official, and must face the dangerous consequences.

The winner of the award will receive $10,000, and will be announced at the awards ceremony on May 8th, in New York. The winner additionally receives a fully-funded artist residency at Civitella Ranieri, located in a 15th century castle in rural Umbria, Italy.