Writing alum Jemimah Weh ’22 has been named one of the National Book Foundation’s 5 Under 35. Weh was honored for her debut novel, The Original Daughter. Set in Weh’s native Singapore, the book traces a daughter’s litany of sacrifices in pursuit of her ambitions.
Past honorees include Associate Professor Anelise Chen, Raven Leilani, Karen Russell '06, Claire Vaye Watkins, Bryan Washington and the 2023 National Book Award for fiction winner Justin Torres. “We have no doubt that the 2025 5 Under 35 honorees will similarly continue to shape contemporary fiction, and it is our honor to champion their boundless potential and talent,” said David Steinberger, Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Book Foundation. Sponsored by the Amazon Literary Partnership, each honoree receives a $1,250 prize.
Weh was selected for the award by 2023 honoree Morgan Talty, whose debut short story collection, Night of the Living Rez, won several major awards including the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize. He is now an assistant professor of English at the University of Maine, Orono.
This years’ honorees will be celebrated in a public ceremony at Littlefield in Brooklyn on June 4, 2025. Hosted by Justin Torres, the event will feature readings by the authors, speeches from their selectors and a cash bar. Tickets to the ceremony can be purchased here.
Jemimah Wei was born and raised in Singapore. A 2022-2024 Stegner Fellow at Stanford University, she has received fellowships, scholarships and awards from institutions including the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference and Singapore’s National Arts Council.
