Troublemaker a Finalist for the PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography

January 29, 2026

PEN America has announced that Troublemaker: The Fierce, Unruly Life of Jessica Mitford is a Finalist for the annual PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography.

The award is “For a biography of exceptional literary, narrative, and artistic merit, based on scrupulous research.” This year’s judges were Aidan Levy, Pamela Newkirk, and Benjamin Taylor. Other finalists for the award are Baldwin: A Love Story by Nicholas Boggs, When Caesar Was King: How Sid Caesar Reinvented American Comedy by David Margolick, Stan and Gus: Art, Ardor, and the Friendship That Built the Gilded Age by Henry Wiencek, and Electric Spark: The Enigma of Dame Muriel by Frances Wilson.

The winner will be announced March 31, 2026 at the PEN America Awards Ceremony.