The PEN Open Book Award (called the Beyond Margins Award until 2009) is an award designed to help increase the variety of races and ethnic groups in the literary and publishing fields. It also works to give more opportunities to writers from different backgrounds to join the publishing industry. The award was started in 1991 by the PEN American Center (now known as PEN America). Its goal is to ensure that people who protect and promote language and literature represent the diverse population of the United States.

A group of people called the Committee meets to discuss shared challenges and plans for helping writers and professionals in their work. They also organize events for the Open Book Award. In the past, the award gave out several prizes each year, but now it gives one prize each year to books published in the United States. These books can be written by authors of color who have not received much attention from the media. There are no requirements for the authors to be U.S. citizens or live in the United States.

The PEN Open Book Award is one of many awards given by International PEN groups in more than 145 PEN centers worldwide. The awards given by the PEN American Center are considered some of the most important literary prizes in the United States.

Honorees

In 2010, the award known as the Beyond Margins Award was given a new name: the PEN Open Book Award. Before 2010, the award was called the Beyond Margins Award, and each year, multiple books were chosen as winners who shared the honor.